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1407.5319 Kogi_Factorsinfluencingtheeffectivenessofimplementationoftheeconomicstimulusprogramme muilerman Draftonsustainability x

Abstract— Generation Production of successful software project

is one of the prime considerations of software industry. Engineering
high quality software products is further influenced by several factors
such as budget, schedule, resource constraints etc. A project manager
is responsible for estimation and allocation of these resources in a
project. Hence, role of project manager has a vital influence on
success of the project. This research comprises of an empirical study
of several projects developed in a product and service based CMMI
Level 5 Software Company. The investigation result shows a
significant impact of aforementioned factors on the success of
software and on the company. The analysis further indicates the vital
role of project managers in optimizing the resource allocation
towards development of software. This paper brings in impact
analysis of efficiency of project manager in effectively allocating
resources such as time, cost, number of developers etc. An awareness
of efficiency level of project manager in optimal allocation of
resources enables one to realize the desired level of quality

Keywords— Defect Management, Project Management, Project
Manager, Software Quality, Software Engineering.

I. INTRODUCTION
OFTWARE has a significant role to play in almost all the
domains of applications. Hence, developing high quality

software is one of the key challenges of software developing
centres. Quality can be viewed in various dimensions such as
product level quality, process level quality, organizational
level etc. Despite the existence of several quality dimensions,
it is always worth to note that it is people who ultimately drive
towards the production of quality in products. Hence,
managing the people and resources is deemed to be one of the
essential activities during software development process.
Effective project management is therefore success determining
strategy of software organizations [1].

However, a project manager plays a vital role in effective
project management. He is accountable for the decisions upon
the need of resources in terms of budget, time, technology,

Gopalakrishnan Nair T.R., was with Research Industry and Incubation
Centre, Dayananda Sagar Institute, Bangalore, India and Aramco Endowed
Chair – Technology, PMU, KSA. (e-mail: trgnair@gmail.com)

Suma. V with the Research Industry and Incubation Centre, Dayananda
Sagar Institute, Bangalore, India ( e-mail: sumavdsce@gmail.com)

Shashi Kumar N.R. with the Research Industry and Incubation Centre,
Dayananda Sagar Institute, Bangalore, India ( e-mail: nrshash@gmail.com)

number of developing personnel etc for the implementation of
desired application as elicited from potential stakeholders.
Hence, effective project management is more dependent on
efficiency of the project manager [2].

Nevertheless, the importance of project manager in effective
project management process and existence of several quality
enhancing strategies, it is worth to recall that most of the
project failure occurs due to inefficient project management
process. This research therefore aims to analyse the impact of
various resources which were allocated by project manager on
the success of the project.

This paper therefore presents an empirical investigation on
several projects from a product based software industry to
signify the impact analysis of efficiency of project manager in
effectively allocating resources. Section II of the paper briefs
about the background work for this investigation. Section III
describes the Research Method, Section IV presents the
empirical analysis of several projects through a case study,
Section V presents the Analysis and Inferences and Section VI
provides the summary of this research paper.

II.RELATED WORK
Role of project managers is one of the contributing factors

which aim at developing successful project. The significant
role and responsibilities of project manager is to plan,
schedule and allocate resources towards development of the
project. Hence, efficiency of project manager in right
estimation and prediction of resources for the project has an
influencing impact on the success of a project.
Authors in [3] state that the knowledge of project manager
plays a critical role in the success or failure of projects. They
further feel that an experienced project manager with his skill
level on integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human
resource, communication management and risks has an impact
on the success of the project [3].

The failure of IT systems development projects has been
typically be categorized as cost, time, and performance
(quality) issues [4].

Authors in [1] feel that the knowledge of project manager
plays a vital role in the success or failure of projects. They
further express that an experienced Project Manager with his
skill set comprising of integration, scope, time, cost, quality,
human resource, communication management, risks and

Impact Analysis of Allocation of Resources by
Project Manager on Success of Software

Projects
Gopalakrishnan Nair. T.R, Suma.V, Shashi Kumar. N.R

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191

procurement management influences the success of the project.
[1].

Authors in [5] state that product quality was low with
moderate team satisfaction and that with an increased team
satisfaction; the quality of the product further accelerates [5].

Further, authors in [6] suggest that project team potency is
influenced by project team culture and that the project success
and project member satisfaction is influenced by project team
potency [6].

Defect management is one of the core demands for the
success of the project and it is a fact that team performance
influences the effective defect management [7] [8].

Authors in [9] feel that software engineering has now taken
a new perspective where project manager looks for
professional management and software quality assurance
methodologies during developmental activities [9].

However, author in [10] expresses that project manager has
an main role in balancing and satisfying competing demands
for project scope, time, cost, risk, and subsequently on quality
[10].

Authors in [11] suggest that success of project depends
much on project manager estimation capability of parameters
like the number of defects and its presence at various phases of
software development [11].

Research made by authors in [12] indicates a vital need for
analytical reasoning from project managers towards effective
resource allocation for defect management in order to realize
successful software projects [12]
Our investigation therefore provides an empirical study of
several projects to bring in awareness on the efficiency of
project manager in accurate estimation and resource allocation
by indicating the impact analysis of these resources on the
success of a project.

III RESEARCH WORK

Since, software has a major role in all domains of
applications developing quality software is one of the needs of
every industry. In order to develop quality software, role of
project manager has a vital contribution in achieving the same.
Hence, this research aimed to explore the impact of various
resources upon the success of the project from the perspective
of resource allocation decision of project managers. In order to
achieve this objective, the investigation included a deep
analysis of several projects developed in a leading CMMI and
ISO certified product based software industry. Empirical data
was collected from document management repositories. Modes
of data collection included log reports, interviews, telephonic
conversations, emails involving the entire project developing
teams of the industry. Analysis of the data indicates the impact
of various resources upon the success of the project based on
the decision of their estimation and allocation by the project
manager.

IV CASE STUDY

The case study comprises of a CMMI level 5 and ISO
certified service based software industry. The company
functions on Business Intelligence, data warehouse, Enterprise

Resource Planning, Business Process Outsourcing, Banking,
Finance, Airlines and Energy Utilities.

Table 1 depicts a sampled data of fifteen projects developed
since 2009 to 2012. The sampled projects are developed in
.Net and Java programming languages. The table provides
information about the log of estimated and actual data on
project completion time, cost, defect count and total number of
developers involved during developmental process.

In order to resolve the varied complexities of production,
this study considers medium and large projects. Medium
projects require less than 5000 hours of total software
development time. Large projects consider more than 5,000
hours of total software development time. These projects are
developed on Oracle database and used Java, .Net based tools
in Linux Operating system environment.

V ANALYSIS AND INFERENCES
Analysis for the empirical data is carried out on the various

resources. It is worth to note that success of the project
depends on quality of the product. Quality however is
achieved through parameters such as cost, time, number of
developers in the development team, their effort, defect
management ability of the team, technology, operational
environment, programming language, standard and policies
etc. This part of the research focuses upon role of project
manager and effectiveness of his resource allocation in the
project. Hence, parameters such as cost, time, number of
developers and defect count which are some of the highly
quality influencing parameters are considered for the purpose
of this investigation. In order to study the impact of the
considered parameters towards the success of the project, this
work involves incremental technique of impact analysis of
each of them. Accordingly, cost parameter is compared with
time upon the success level of the project. Subsequently, these
two parameters are in turn analyzed with number of developers
and henceforth the success of the project. Further progressing
in this incremental mode, impact of number of developers is
analyzed with defect count. Finally, defect count is analyzed
with time, cost parameters.

Table 1 infers that as variations observed in cost parameter
in terms of estimation and actual need of the cost during the
project increases, the success level of the project decreases.
Similar inferences may be drawn with time as parameter.
However, the variations as observed in estimating the number
of developers prior to the start of the project by project
managers and subsequently the allocation of the number of
developers during the span of developmental activities
indicates unpredictable variations with success of the project.
Similar inference may be drawn for the defect count with
success level of the project. Hence, it is not just the number of
developers or defect count variations that affect the software
quality, but it is the right choice of developers and their apt
effort in defect management that influences the success of the
project. Further, it is also important to note that project
managers are responsible in selection and allocation of
resources. Our forth coming research work indicates the

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significance of right allocation of developers which deems the
effort analysis of the same.

Figure 1 illustrates the quality of a software depends upon
different parameters and our focus under study throws light on
the No. of Developers, Time, Cost and defect management.
Progressing further in this impact analysis of resources, our

subsequent focus was towards analyzing the mutual impact of
resources in the project. Figure 2 depicts the impact of
variations of cost with time in the project. From the figure, it is
apparent that time and cost is mutually dependent on each
other.

TABLE-1: THE SAMPLED DATA OF 15 PROJECTS

PROJECTS
NO. OF

DEVELOPERS DEFECTS TIME COST($)

Success
Level of
a
Project

E A %Var. E A

%
Var. E A

%
Var. %

P1 2 2 0.0 589 595 -1.0 2332 2120 9.1 58300 53000 9.1 95.71
P2 1 1 0.0 144 145 -0.4 582.4 520 10.7 14560 13000 10.7 94.74
P3 1 1 0.0 69 72 -4.5 297.6 248 16.7 7440 6200 16.7 92.80
P4 1 1 0.0 67 65 2.5 288 240 16.7 7200 6000 16.7 91.04
P5 3 5 66.7 1111 1200 -8.0 4200 4000 4.8 105000 100000 4.8 82.95
P6 6 8 33.3

194

4 1532 21.2 7700 7000 9.1 192500 175000 9.1 81.82
P7 5 7 40.0 1700 1665 2.1 7344 6120 16.7 183600 153000 16.7 81.15
P8 5 7 40.0 1789 1652 7.7 7599 6440 15.3 189980 161000 15.3 80.46
P9 2 3 50.0 536 535 0.1 2314 1928 16.7 57840 48200 16.7 79.14

P10 2 3 50.0 456 459 -0.8 2017 1640 18.7 50430 41000 18.7 78.34
P11 3 5 66.7 1011 1100 -8.8 4404 3640 17.4 110110 91000 17.4 76.85
P12 1 2 100.0 162 159 2.0 700.8 584 16.7 17520 14600 16.7 66.17
P13 1 2 100.0 100 95 5.0 432 360 16.7 10800 9000 16.7 65.42
P14 1 2 100.0 200 201 -0.5 907.2 720 20.6 22680 18000 20.6 64.81
P15 1 2 100.0 48 45 6.9 217.5 174 20.0 5437.5 4350 20.0 63.28

P: Project; E: Estimated; A: Actual; Var.: Variance

Figure 1: Parameters depends on Software Quality

Pn
[OTHERS]

P3
[NO. OF
DEVELOPERS]

P1
[TIME] Quality

P2
[COST]

P4
[DEFECTS]

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Fig. 2 Impact of variation of Time and Cost

Fig. 3 Impact of variation of Developers and Cost

Fig. 4 Impact of Variation of No. of Developers and Defects

Fig. 5 Impact of Variation of Defects and Time

Figure 3 depicts the impact of variation of number of
developers with cost in the projects. From the figure, it is
inferred that there is hardly any noticeable impact of
number. of developers on the cost.

Figure 4 depicts the Impact of Variation of number of
developers with defects in the project. From the figure, it is
apparent that it is not a rule of thumb that by increasing
number of developers, more number of defects is captured.
This has been proven from the figure where defect count has
increased and has not decreased by the addition of number
of developers. Our forth coming work put forth the analysis
of efficiency of developers towards achieving decreased
defect count as defect management is one of the influencing
parameter for project success.
Figure 5 depicts the Impact of Variation of Defects and
Time in the project. From the figure, it is shown that
increase in number of defect count in the project
proportionally total time required to complete the project.
Therefore Our forth coming work put forth the analysis of
efficiency of developers towards achieving decreased defect
count as defect management is one of the influencing
parameter for project success..

VI CONCLUSION
Software has become one of the widely required
components of any application domain. Hence, production
of high quality software is one of the core needs of any
industry. Generating high quality software is dependent of
various parameters which includes cost, time, number of
developers, technology, and complexity of the project and
so on.

Role of project manager is one of the highly modulating
factors that aims towards estimation and apt allocation of
resources in successfully developing projects. However, the
deep investigation carried on several empirical projects
developed at various software industries indicates the
existence of variations between resource estimation prior to
the development process and actual allocation of resources
during the developmental period by the project manager.
This paper therefore aims to investigate the impact of these

International Conference on Data Mining and Computer Engineering (ICDMCE’2012) December 21-22, 2012 Bangkok (Thailand)
194

variations of resources towards the attainment of success of
the project. The parameters that are considered in this part
of research include cost, time, number of developers and
defect count upon the success of the project. The knowledge
of impact of variations in these resources assures the
organization in effectively planning, controlling and
developing projects that ultimately leads towards production
of high quality software which in turn guarantee completely
satisfied software products.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge the software
company involved in this study and the project managers for
their invaluable help in providing necessary information for
our work under the framework of the Non-Disclosure
Agreement.

REFERENCES
[1] A.H.Yousef, A.Gamal, A.Warda, M.Mahmoud, Software Projects

Success Factors Identification using Data Mining, IEEE, 2006]
[2] Leung, H. “Organizational factors for successful management of

software development,” Journal of Computer Information Systems,
Winter 2001-2002, 26-37

[3] Dr. N. Ehsan1, K. Z. Waheed2, U. Asghar3, M. T. Nawaz4, E.
Mirza5, S. Z. Sarwar .Effects of Project Manager’s Competency on
Project Success, Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE ICMIT

[4] Debbie tesch, timothy j. Kloppenborg, mark n. Erolick, IT project
risk factors: the project management professionals perspective, ,
Summer 2007 Journal of Computer Information Systems

[5] Donna M. Carlon’ and Robert D. Knecht, Assessing the impact of
team dynamics on the design Process: a work in progress, 32″‘
ASEWIEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 2002 IEEE

[6] Zvi Aronson , Antecedents and Consequences of Project Team
Potency: An Investigation of the Role of Project Team Culture in the
Development of Project Team Potency , PICMET 2006 Proceedings,
9-13 July, Istanbul, Turkey (c) 2006 PICMET, Stevens Institute of
Technology, NJ 07030, USA

[7] Suma, V., and Gopalakrishnan Nair, T.R. 2009. Defect management
strategies in software development, book on Recent Advances in
Technologies, Intecweb Publishers, Vienna, Austria, ISBN 978-953-
307-017-9, 2009, 379-404.

[8] Nair, T.R., Gopalakrishnan Nair, and Suma, V. 2010a. Impact
analysis of inspection process for effective defect management in
software development Software Quality Professional Journal (SQP),
ASQ 12, no.2. 4-14.

[9] Yingxu Wang, Graham King – Software Engineering Practices,
April/2000, CRC Press Publication

[10] Wang – Software Engineering Foundations, AUERBACH / CRC
Press publication, 2007

[11] Nair TRG, Suma V, Shashi Kumar NR – “An Analytical Approach
for Project Managers in Effective Defect Management in Software
Process”, The 5th Malaysian Software Engineering Conference,
Malaysia, IEEE published.

[12] John D. Bedingfield, Alfred E. Thal, Jr.,, Project Manager
Personality as a Factor for Success,2008, PICMET 2008
Proceedings, 27-31 July, Cape Town, South Africa, 2008 PICMET

[13] Suma, V., and Gopalakrishnan Nair, T.R. 2009. Defect management
strategies in software development, book on Recent Advances in
Technologies, Intecweb Publishers, Vienna, Austria, ISBN 978-953-
307-017-9, 2009, 379-404.

[14] Walker Royce – Software Project Management, Pearson Publication,
2010 Edition

[15] Rahul Thakurta, F. Ahlemann,”Understanding Requirements
Volatility in software Projects – An empirical Investigation of
Volatility Awareness, Management Approaches and their
applicability”, 43rd Hawaii International conference on system
Sciences, USA, 2010.

[16] David Budgen, “Software Design”, Pearson Publication, 2008
[17] Watts s Humphrey, Managing the software process, PEARSON

EDITION, 2009]
[18] Richard H Thayer, Software Engineering Project Manager, a Top

Down View, 1987, IEEE
[19] VahidKhatibi, Dayang N. A. Jawawi, Software Cost Estimation

Methods: A Review, Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and
Information Sciences, 2010-11

[20] Fairiey, R. E., &Willshire, M. J. “Why the Vasa sank: 10problems
and some antidotes for software projects,” IEEE Software,
March/April 20003

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FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PROGRAMME (ESP), THE CASE OF

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

DAVID MWAI KOGI

A RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN

PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

2013

DECLARATION

This Research Project is my original work and has not been submitted for an award in this or any

other university.

Signature ……………………………

Date……………………………

Kogi David Mwai

L50/68576/2011

This Research Project Report is submitted for examination with my approval as the
University Supervisor.

Signature ……………………………… Date………………………

PROF. CHRISTOPHER GAKUU
Department of Extra Mural Studies

University of Nairobi

iii

DEDICATION

This Research Project Report is dedicated to my wife, Damaris, for her patience and all the support

she has offered me.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My sincere acknowledgement to the University of Nairobi for giving me an opportunity to fulfill a

personal desire to further my studies in Project Planning and Management. This was my choice

Institution and you honored that desire. I wish, too, to recognize and appreciate the Department of

Extra Mural Studies for contributing immensely in sharpening my project planning and

management skills.

Special thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Christopher M. Gakuu for the invaluable advice, patience

and guidance in this Research Project. In addition I most sincerely thank and appreciate all the

Lecturers in the entire department for their tireless efforts in enabling me to successfully go through

the course work, assignments, term papers and examinations. Their patience, hard work and

commitment has made possible. I remain indebted to you.

I wish to appreciate colleagues at the Ministry of Public Works, Nairobi and classmates at Nairobi

Extra Mural Centre who have assisted me at various stages of this master’s programme. The role

they played cannot be overemphasized and is sincerely recognized.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

DECLARATION……………………………………………………………………………………ii

DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………………iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………………………iv

LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………ix

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………….xi

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS………………………………………………………….xii

ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………….xiii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………..1

1.1 Background to the study………………………………………………………………………….1

1.2 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………………………3

1.3 Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………………………..5

1.4 Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………………………………..5

1.5 Research Questions of the study………………………………………………………………….5

1.6 Significance of the study…………………………………………………………………………6

1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study………………………………………………………………….6

1.8 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………………………..7

1.9 Delimitation of the Study…………………………………………………………………………7

1.10 Definitions of Significant Terms used in the Study…………………………………………….7

1.11 Organization of the Study………………………………………………………………………8

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………….9

2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………9

2.2 Construction Industry…………………………………………………………………………….9

2.3 Construction Projects…………………………………………………………………………….9

2.4 Construction Life Cycle…………………………………………………………………………10

2.5 Performance of Construction Industry………………………………………………………….10

2.6 Project Design Process…………………………………………………………………………..12

2.7 Contractors Selection Process……………………………………………………………………13

2.8 Project Funding Levels………………………………………………………………………….15

2.9 Project Cost Control…………………………………………………………………………….15

2.9.1 Estimate Costs ………………………………………………………………………………..15

2.9.2 Project Budget………………………………………………………………………………..16

2.9.3 Cost Control Tools…………………………………………………………………………….16

2.10 Project Scheduling…………………………………………………………………………….17

2.10.1 Project Scheduling Techniques………………………………………………………………17

2.10.1.1 Narrative Scheduling………………………………………………………………………17

2.10.1.2 Gantt Chart or Bar Chart…………………………………………………………………..18

2.10.1.3 Linear Scheduling Method (LSM)…………………………………………………………18

2.10.1.4 Critical Path Method Schedules (CPM)…………………………………………………….19

2.10.1.5 Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)………………………………………19

2.11 Summary of Literature Review………………………………………………………………..20

2.12 Study gap to be filled…………………………………………………………………………..20

2.13 Conceptual Framework……………………………………………………………………….21

2.13.1 Relationship between variables………………………………………………………………23

2.13.1.1 Changes in construction designs……………………………………………………………23

2.13.1.2 Contractors Selection Process……………………………………………………………23

2.13.1.3 Project Funding Levels…………………………………………………………………….23

2.13.1.4 Project Cost control………………………………………………………………………..24

2.13.1.5 Project Scheduling…………………………………………………………………………24

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………………..25

3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..25

3.2 Research Design…………………………………………………………………………………25

3.3 Target Population………………………………………………………………………………….25

3.4 Sampling and Sampling Procedures…………………………………………………………….26

3.4.1 Sample Size……………………………………………………………………………………26

3.4.2 Sampling Techniques…………………………………………………………………………27

3.5 Data Collection Instruments…………………………………………………………………….27

3.5.1 Piloting of Instruments…………………………………………………………………………28

3.5.2 Validity of the Instruments……………………………………………………………………28

vii

3.5.3 Reliability of the Research Instrument………………………………………………………..28

3.6 Data Collection Procedures………………………………………………………………….. …29

3.7 Data Analysis Techniques………………………………………………………………………29

3.8 Ethical Considerations……………………………………………………………………………29

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION…….32

4.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………32

4.1 Response rate of the study………………………………………………………………………32

4.2 Background of the respondents………………………………………………………………..33

4.2.1Gender profile of the respondents……………………………………………………………..33

4.2.2 Highest education level………………………………………………………………………..3

4.2.3 Age of respondents……………………………………………………………………………3

4.2.4 Classification of respondents…………………………………………………………………3

4.2.5 Cross tabulation of classification of respondents and highest education level……………….3

4.3 Presentation of analysis according to research questions……………………………………..38

4.3.1 Influence of changes in construction designs on effectiveness of implementation of

Construction projects………………………………………………………………………….39

4.3.2 Reasons for Changes in Construction Designs………………………………………………..39

4.3.3 Effect of changes in construction designs on effective construction project

Implementation…………………………………………………………………………………40

4.4 Influence of Contractors Selection process on effectiveness of Implementation

Construction projects………………………………………………………………………….41

4.4.1 The process of Tender Evaluations……………………………………………………………41

4.4.2 Factors determining the selection of a contractor in a construction project…………………..42

4.5 Project Funding Levels………………………………………………………………….…….43

4.5.1 Project funding as a critical factor in effective construction project implementation…………44

4.5.2 Funding Levels impact on project implementation……………………………………………44

4.6. Project Cost Control……………………………………………………………………………45

4.6.1 Preparation of accurate project costs………………………………………………………….46

4.6.2 Preparation of Budgets for construction projects……………………………………………..46

viii

4.6.3 Adherence to budgets at implementation stage of construction projects……………………..47

4.6.4 Project Cost Control in construction projects…………………………………………………48

4.6.5 Project Cost control impact on effective implementation………………………………………49

4.7.0 Project Scheduling…………………………………………………………………………….50

4.7.1 Project Duration Estimation…………………………………………………………………..50

4.7.2 Tools and Techniques of Project Scheduling in Construction Projects………………………51

4.7.3 Project Scheduling influence on effective construction project implementation…………….52

4.8.0 Influence of study variables on the effectiveness of construction project

Implementation………………………………………………………………………………..53

4.9 Summary of Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………….55

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY………………………….

5.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..57

5.2 Summary of Findings……………………………………………………………………………57

5.3 Discussion of the Findings ……………………………………………………………………..58

5.4 Conclusions of the study………………………………………………………………………..59

5.5 Recommendations of the study…………………………………………………………………60

5.6 Suggestions for further Studies…………………………………………………………………62

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………

APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………………68

APPENDIX 1: LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL………………………..……………………………68

APPENDIX 11: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STAKEHOLDERS IN ESP CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS…………………………………………………………………………………………..6

APPENDIX 111: KREJCIE AND MORGAN SAMPLE SIZE TABLE…………………………..7

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table: 3.1 Sampling Frame ……………………………………………………………………….26

Table: 3.2 Sampling Table …………………………………………………………………… …

Table: 3.3 Operation definitions of variables…………………………………………………….3

Table: 4.1 Response Rate of the study..…………………………………………………………..33

Table: 4.2 Gender of Respondents……………………………………………………………….

Table: 4.3 Highest Educational Level …………………..………………………………………

Table: 4.4 Age of Respondents……….………………………………………………………….36

Table: 4.5 Classification of Respondents………………………………………………………

Table: 4.6 Cross Tabulation of classification of Respondents and Highest Education Level…

Table: 4.7 Construction Design changes at Implementation stage……………………………..39

Table: 4.8 Reasons for changes in construction designs…………………………………………

Table: 4.9 Effect of Changes in Construction Designs on Effective Construction Projects
Implementation………………………………………………………………………

Table: 4.10 Tender Evaluations as done by Clients, Consultants or Clients and Consultants……4

Table: 4.11 Contractors Selection factors Impact on Project Implementation…………………..4

Table: 4.12 Project Funding as a Critical Factor in Construction Project Implementation……….

Table: 4.13 Project Funding Levels Impact on Project Implementation………………………….

Table: 4.14 Project Cost Preparation……………………………………………………………..

Table: 4.15 Project Budget Preparation………………………………………………………….

Table: 4.16 Project Budget Adherence………………………………………………………….

Table: 4.17 Project Costs Control ………………………………………………………………49

Table: 4.18 Project Cost Control Impact on Project Implementation…………………………….

Table: 4.19 Project Duration Estimation …………………………………………………………51

Table: 4.20 Project Scheduling Tools and Techniques……………………………………………

Table: 4.21 Project Scheduling Influence on Project Implementation…………………………….

Table: 4.22 Analysis of Influences of Study Variables on Effectiveness of Implementation of
Construction Projects…………………………………………………………………55

LIST OF FIGURES
Page

Figure 1: Gantt chart or Bar chart…………………………………………………………….

Figure 2: Conceptual Framework……………………………………………………………..

xii

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ESP Economic Stimulus Programme

ICT Information and Computer Technology

GDP Gross Domestic Product

PEV Post Election Violence

MOPW Ministry of Public Works

RFP Request for Proposal

CPM Critical Path Method

PERT Program Evaluation and Review Technique

CIDC Constituency Industrial Development Centre

RII Relative Importance Index

xiii

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to identify factors influencing effectiveness of implementation of

economic stimulus programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi County. The objectives

of the study were to establish the influence of changes in construction designs on the effectiveness

of implementation of economic stimulus programme, to determine the influence of selection of

contractors process on the effectiveness of implementation of economic stimulus programme, to

assess the influence of project funding levels on the effectiveness of implementation of economic

stimulus programme, to establish the influence of cost control models on the effectiveness of

implementation of economic stimulus programme and to find out the influence of project

scheduling models on the effectiveness of implementation of economic stimulus programme. The

methodology used was literature review and field study. The field survey employed self

administered questionnaire instrument as well as simple random sampling. The study used

quantitative research methodology and employed field survey design as well as literature review.

Thirty seven number questionnaires were distributed to clients, consultants and contractors

randomly selected from thirty seven projects that were sampled and thirty six responded. The field

survey confirmed that changes in construction designs, selection process of contractors, project

funding levels, project cost control and project scheduling all have influence on effectiveness on

implementation of construction projects. Analysis of relative importance index revealed that project

cost control had the highest influence followed by project funding levels. Project scheduling,

contractors’ selection process and finally changes in construction designs followed in that order of

importance. The recommendations include accurate project estimates should be done at the

initiation of the project. Project cost control i.e. preparation of project budgets, variance analysis

and financial appraisals should be carried out regularly throughout the project cycle. The clients

should also ensure the project is adequately funded up to completion to avoid cash flow and

liquidity challenges.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

The Kenya Economic Stimulus Program (ESP) was initiated by the Government of Kenya to boost

economic growth and lead the Kenyan economy out of a recession situation brought about by

economic slowdown. Its aim was to jumpstart the Kenyan economy towards long term growth and

development, after the 2007-2008 Post Election Violence that affected the Kenyan economy,

prolonged drought, a rally in oil and prices and the effects of the global economic crises.

Between 2003 – 2007, the Kenyan Economy was growing quite fast. However, due to government

corruption scandals and political unrest which resulted in the 2008 Post Election Violence,

businesses and investment projects collapsed. This was accompanied by prolonged drought which

forced the price of food to rise beyond the means of most Kenyans (Economic Stimulus Programme

Handbook).

In the Standard Newspaper of 5th April, 2011 an article by John Ngunjiri reported that in 2009, the

Kenyan economy was struggling to crawl out of a deep abyss of recession following the Post

Election Violence. Worse still, the effects of economic crises were making it impossible for the

economy to recover fast enough. According to the 2009 Economic Survey, the country had

recorded a depressing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 1.7 percent in 2008 compared to

an impressive record of 7.1 percent in 2007.

All these setbacks called for immediate action from the government to restore the economy to its

earlier status. Thus in the 2009/2010 Budget, the then Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta launched

the Economic Stimulus Program (ESP) to stimulate the growth of the Kenyan economy through the

rapid creation of jobs and business opportunities all over the country (Economic Stimulus

Programme Handbook).

The Economic Stimulus Programme was a government programme coordinated by the Ministry of

Finance and Kshs. 22.0 Billion was committed to the Programme. The aim of the programme was

to support local development projects in every Constituency. The construction of these projects

would create employment and the finished project would provide essential services, jobs and

business opportunities and enough food at the constituency level.

The key objectives of ESP included boosting of the country’s economic recovery, investment in

long term solutions to the challenges of food security, expansion of economic opportunities in rural

areas for employment creation, promotion of regional development for equity and social stability,

improvement of infrastructure and the quality of education and healthcare, investment in the

conservation of the environment and expand the access to, and build the Information and Computer

Technology (ICT) capacity in order to expand economic opportunities and accelerate economic

growth.

To achieve the above outlined objectives, the Construction industry would play a key role and was

therefore identified as a very important component of the ESP. Construction activity contributes to

the economic development of a country as well as accelerating the economic growth of the nation.

Construction is an employment spinner. It generates more employment than most of the sectors. It’s

worthy to note that this Industry contributes to 5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

and employs more than one million people. According to report by Kenya National Bureau of

Statistics (KNBS), the economy of Kenya grew by 4.9% in first Quarter of 2011 due to improved

productivity in the construction industry (Kenya Business Review, February 24, 2012).

Various construction projects were identified for implementation under the Economic Stimulus

Programme in various sectors of the economy distributed all over the country. The sectors were: –

Education, Public Health, Local Government, Industrialization and Provincial Administration

Offices. The projects which were identified in different sectors outlined above were designed,

contracted and implemented under the supervision, guidance and control of the Ministry of Public

Works (MOPW) the technical ministry charged with, amongst others, the mandate of

“Development and Maintenance of Public Buildings” in accordance with the Presidential Circular

No. 1/2008 published in May 2008. The projects duration was initially meant to last for a period of

Six (6) months after which the Programme would be closed out.

According to Treasury’s Report on the status of implementation of the projects appearing in the

Daily Nation Monday, November 5 2012, the Ministry of Education’s out of the 365 Centers of

Excellence to be established throughout the country, only 53 had been completed. The Ministry had

also planned to build 421 Model Primary Schools, two in the 210 Constituencies. So far only 185

had been completed. Consequently the Ministry requested for an additional Kshs. 2.2 Billion to

complete stalled

projects.

Out of the 39 District Headquarters that were to be built, only Four (4) had been completed, while

three (3) are yet to be started. And out of the 210 fresh produce markets that the Ministry of Local

Government was to build, the Report says only 55 had been completed. The Ministry of Public

Health had completed the construction of 136 health centres out of the targeted 210. Clearly this

was not what the government intended and hence the need to carry out a study on the factors

influencing effectiveness of construction projects

implementation.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Construction project parties involved in a project aim to complete it successfully on schedule,

within a planned budget, with the highest quality and in the safest manner (Mohammed, 2005).

Projects are costly and high risk undertakings that need to be accomplished by certain date, for a

certain amount of money and within some expected level of performance. Important aspects of a

project includes “inputs” in the form of men, money, materials, and plans and “outputs” in the form

of activities, products or services ( Asfandyar,

2012).

Considerable percentages of projects are falling behind schedule and recent study commissioned by

the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) concludes that about half of construction

projects are behind schedule (Yahya, 2009). The recent history is littered with many examples of

projects that have not succeeded as well as desired. In many instances, critical aspects of design

were either poorly executed or overlooked altogether (Raed, 2007). Research has indicated that

quality of designs – poor drawings were considered to be a cause of low productivity and hence

ineffectiveness and delay is caused in the construction process when a drawing is incomplete or not

available (Shahriyar, 2005).

Project Control is another integral part of the project management process. It aims at the regular

monitoring of achievement by comparison against planned progress. When deviations from planned

progress occur, plans may have to be changed. There are three elements to be controlled in a

construction project – progress against time; cost against tender or budget; quality against

specification (Austin, 1995).

The Economic Stimulus Programme Construction Projects was no exception as it did not perform

as per the intended plans. Most of the projects were not completed within the intended completion

duration of Six (6) months. There were a host of challenges experienced during implementation

stage. For example ESP experienced cost overruns, prolonged completion periods beyond the

initially envisaged dates thereby denying clients of the opportunity to enjoy the facilities in good

time while others have never to date been practically completed.

A general view held by stakeholders in the Construction industry and the public in general is that

the industry within the Public Sector has not been efficient and effective in projects delivery. This is

evidenced by the high number of stalled construction projects scattered all over the country. There

is high rate of non completion of projects, cost overruns and extensions of contract periods as well

as final products that do not meet the clients’

expectations.

A number of factors may be identified as contributing to the ineffectiveness of implementation of

Construction projects. This research study intends to identify those factors and their influence on

the effectiveness of project implementation. These factors include: the construction design

changes, the selection process of contractors, project Funding levels, project cost control

mechanisms and project scheduling systems/models.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate factors influencing the effectiveness of

implementation of Economic Stimulus Programme on construction projects, Nairobi County.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are:

1. To establish the influence of the changes in construction designs on the effectiveness of

implementation of the

Economic Stimulus Programme in Nairobi County;

2. To determine the influence of selection process of contractors on the effectiveness of

implementation of

the Economic Stimulus Programme in Nairobi County;

3. To assess the influence of project funding levels on the effectiveness of implementation of the

Economic Stimulus Programme in Nairobi County;

4. To establish the influence of cost control mechanisms on the effectiveness of implementation of

the Economic Stimulus Programme in Nairobi County;

5. To find out the influence of project scheduling systems/models on the effectiveness of

implementation of the Economic Stimulus Programme in Nairobi County;

1.5 Research Questions

This study was guided by the following questions:

1. To what extent do changes in construction designs influence the effectiveness of implementation

of the

Economic

Stimulus Programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi

County?

2. To what extent does the Selection Process of contractors influence the effectiveness of the

Economic Stimulus Programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi County?

3. To what extent does a Project Funding level influence the effectiveness of implementation of the

Economic Stimulus Programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi County?

4. How do cost control mechanisms influence the effectiveness of implementation of the Economic

Stimulus Programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi County?

5. To what extent do Project Scheduling systems/models influence the effectiveness of

implementation of the Economic Stimulus Programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi

County?

1.6 Significance of the study

Construction Industry in any country plays key role in economic development and effective

implementation of Construction projects contribute significantly to the economy. The outcome of

this research study will contribute immensely and positively to the Construction Industry and in

general the economic development of the country as it will assist project managers and

implementers in addressing the issues that negatively influence effective implementation of

Construction Projects. If this is done, then the high number of stalled projects, experiences of cost

overruns and extended construction periods beyond the original completion dates will cease in this

very important industry thereby save the country from unnecessary loss and wastage of much

needed resources which are in scarce supply.

1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study

The assumptions of the study are that the recommendations of the research study from Nairobi

County also apply to the Construction Industry in the entire country and especially the Public

Sector and that respondents will provide honest and complete responses. It is also assumed the

MOPW and other stakeholders will make use of the findings of the study.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

Due to limitation of time and resources the study was narrowed to cover Economic Stimulus

Programme Construction Projects in Nairobi County though the ESP was designed and

implemented across the entire country.

1.9 Delimitation of the Study

The major component of the Economic Stimulus Programme entailed implementation of

Construction Projects falling under various Government Departments. The Conceptualization,

Planning, Development and Production of Designs, Tendering Process, Award of Contracts, and

Implementation Phase of the Projects were undertaken through the co operation and engagement of

various stakeholders. These stakeholders comprised of the following: – The Treasury, Client

Ministries, Ministry of Public Works and Representatives from Constituency Development Fund

Offices.

The specific ministries were: – Ministries of Education, Industrialization, Health, Local Government

and Office of the President Provincial Administration. All these Ministries had Projects in all the

210 Constituencies. This study will concentrate on ESP Construction Projects implemented in

Nairobi County.

1.10 Definitions of Significant Terms used in the Study

Construction Projects: Are projects undertaken by the government to facilitate provision of

infrastructure to serve as a platform for production activities and comprises buildings, road

network, bridges for enhancement of economic development.

Economic Stimulus: A government initiated programme intended to boost economic growth and

lead the country out of recession through provision of funding to key public sectors/projects and

hence facilitate creation of employment, markets for local materials, and provision of essential

services, business opportunities and enough food at the constituency level.

Effective Implementation: Project delivered that meets the original objectives within the

constraints and specifications of budget, time and quality.

1.11 Organization of the study

The Research Study is organized under five main chapters. It starts with an introductory chapter

which outlines the Statement of the problem, Research objectives as well as the Research questions,

significance, assumptions, limitations and delimitations of the study. In Chapter Two Literature

Review of all related literature is undertaken from various sources of materials that include journals

and books. Chapter Three presents the Research Methodology adopted in the study. The same

chapter also details the research design used, the target population as well as the sample used for the

study. Chapter Four captures the Data Collection, Analysis and Presentation and finally Chapter

Five that presents the study’s Recommendations and Conclusions.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter covers review of theories and related literature by other authors in the field under study

and specifically the study variables. The chapter shall also present conceptual framework to support

the empirical review.

2.2 Construction Industry

Mankind has undertaken and has been engaged in some form of construction activities ever since

the dawn of civilization. He has created architectural marvels which came to be regarded as the

wonders of the world, for example, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Angkor

temples of Cambodia, the tower of Babel. Construction is an everlasting activity across the globe

contributing between 6-9% of the Gross Domestic Product in most countries. Construction

constitutes more than half of the fixed capital formation as infrastructure and public utilities capital

works required for economic development

(Chitkara, 2009).

2.3 Construction Projects

Governments and organizations usually embark on different projects with the aim of creating new

service or improving the functional efficiency of the existing ones. Such projects require

appropriate skills and techniques that encompass good and sound skills to manage limited budgets,

monitor shrinking schedules and unpredicated outcomes while at the same time dealing with people

and organizational issues. Developmental facilities like housing, roads, and power plants are

undertaken with strategic aims of developing infrastructure to facilitate economic growth ( Olateju,

2011; Chitkara, 2009).

Construction Projects are undertakings that have a beginning and an end and are carried out to meet

established goals within costs, schedules and quality objectives (Marion, 2002). These specified

deliverables (also commonly known as scope), are also referred to as “direct project objectives or

goals” have been accepted as the primary determinants of project success or failure (Jack, 2012).

Time and cost performances constitute fundamental criteria for success of any project (Aftab,

2012).

Every project has a limited budget and there is a point at which there are no resources remaining to

fund the work of the project. If the Project Manager goes beyond that point, then the work of the

project will remain unfinished until new funds are available. A critical step of beginning a

successful project is making certain that the cost estimates for the project is reasonable and

acceptable (Griffin, 2010).

2.4 Construction Life Cycle

Project has a predetermined duration with definite beginning and identifiable end. There are four

major and distinct phases in a Project life cycle. In the project initiation phase, the customer

identifies a need, problem or opportunity which can result to a write up document referred to as a

request for proposal (RFP). Through the RFP, the customer asks individuals or contractors to

submit proposals on how they might solve the problem, along with associated cost and schedule.

Proposed solution development phase follows and contractors develop approaches to solving the

customers need or problem, estimates the types and amounts of resources that would be needed as

well as the time it would take to design and implement the proposed solution. They submit their

proposals to the customer. Implementation of the proposed solution phase is the performance of the

project which involves doing the detailed planning for the project and then implementing the plan

to accomplish the project objective. Different resources are utilized. Finally there is the project

termination phase which involves certain close-out activities such as confirming that all

deliverables have been provided to and accepted by the customer (Jack, 2009).

2.5 Performance of Construction Industry

The key to economic and social growth in all countries, developed and developing, is better

management in all sectors: agriculture, industry, public works, education, public health, government

(Louis, 1988). Proper planning and anticipating the problem areas is all part of the project

management process. There is growing awareness of the need to improve both the productivity and

quality of projects. Successful performance in a construction project helps to deliver good products

to the client. The quality of finished project, construction cost and construction time were the most

important project priorities of performance criteria within client perspective Malaysia (Arazi, 2011).

Delays in project completion and poor performance in the construction industry has been

experienced and has led to failure in achieving effective time and cost performance (Aftab, 2012).

This delay is a common phenomenon that occurs especially where the government projects are

concerned in Malaysia (Tawil, 2013). In a study conducted to identify significant factors causing

cost overruns in large construction projects in Malaysia, the top three factors are fluctuation of

materials, cash flow and financial difficulties faced by contractors and poor site management and

supervision (Rahman, 2013).

Oyewobi, (2012) observed it is almost impossible to have projects completed within the initial cost

and time in Nigeria, as a result of many factors the construction industry is being plagued with

ranging from estimating risk of time and cost overruns. Defects in design, inflation, contractors’

competence, political uncertainty as well as changes in government had the greatest impact on

contractors’ tender figure which contributes to projects’ delay.

In Pakistan the problem of project delays hence poor project performance is a fact that occurs

mostly in construction industry (Haseeb, 2011). Delays are always measured as expensive to all

parties concerned and very often it will result in clash, claims, total desertion and much difficulty

for the feasibility and it slows the growth of construction industry. Natural disasters like flood and

earthquake, Financial and Payment problems, improper planning and poor site organization,

insufficient experience and shortage of materials and equipments are factors that cause delays.

Abdelhak, (2012) makes similar observations of problems of delay in the field of construction.

Analysis of causes of deadline slippage in construction projects completed in several regions of

Morocco were identified as errors made in the initial budget assessment, volatility of the

architecture and engineering programme (multiple modification requests) and construction site

hazards.

Disputes have frequently been claimed to proliferate in the construction industry resulting in

drawbacks and disharmonizations in the completion of the projects with considerable costs. The

following are dispute factors related to public work projects noted in Thailand:- violations of

conditions of contract, insufficient work drawing details, delays in the progress payments by the

owner, poor evaluation of completed works, inaccurate bill of quantities and unrealistic contract

durations during the project construction phase ( Borvorn, 2011).

In Kenya, Nyika (2012) noted that only 20.8 per cent of the projects were implemented on time and

budget, while 79.2 per cent exhibited some form of failure. The major causes of failures were

insufficient implementing capacity, poor project management, weak project design and political

interference.

2.6 Project Design Process

Project Design is the second major phase in the Life Cycle of a Construction Project. The design

process is undertaken by a team of architects and specialists responsible for translating the client’s

requirements into reality. It involves preparation of the necessary production information, including

working drawings and specifications and to complete all arrangements for obtaining tenders

(Austen, 1984).

Design and documentation issues, project management and contract administration issues are

major contributor to poor performance in projects (Aftab, 2012). Frequent construction design

changes during project implementation are commonly practiced and are major inhibiting factor in

achieving successful completion of projects. This is due to the fact that such design changes may

lead to variations in project costs as well as project contract period. The additional project costs

may not have been budgeted as they were not part of the tender sums. Other causes of delays

associated with changes in construction designs that are encountered in construction projects are

engineering i.e. quality of designs, inaccurate drawings, incomplete drawings, defects in designs

and late engineering (Muhamad, 2011; Oyewobi, 2012 ).

Adequate and accurate drawings and specifications are indispensable if the project is going to

achieve success in terms of quality, time, and cost. Time spent on preparing documents, which aid

the contractor to understand the work, will benefit the finished product (Martin, 2004).

Designing stage is a very important stage in the field of construction because any modification in

the project after this stage would prove expensive. A realistic and detailed cost estimate of the

project can be prepared during design stage (Gahlot, 2002).

2.7 Contractors Selection Process

Successful completion of construction projects requires many important processes and one of them

is bidding process during which selecting the most appropriate main contractor to implement the

project is done. Clients may have their own preferred criteria. Professionals in the construction

industry approach the selection process from a different perspective from the clients. Professionals

operating in Malaysia use their accumulated experience and judgment. Track performance, financial

capacity and technical capacity are the most important criteria considered crucial by the selection of

main contractor to undertake the construction project (Arazi, 2011).

Xiaohong (2011) concurs and says that construction contractors have big influences upon projects

and their successes. It is quite critical to select a qualified contractor in the process of construction

management as a competent construction contractor is one of the indispensable conditions of a

proper process and completion of a construction project. Various models and frameworks have been

adopted to evaluate contractor’s bids to facilitate selection of the most appropriate one. First there

should be cost consideration framework whereby the lowest bidder is selected. This system protects

the public from improper practices although unreasonably low bids either accidentally or

deliberately or unqualified contractor may cause extensive delay, cost overrun, quality problems

and increased number of disputes.

The Prequalification Method evaluates the contractor’s competence which ensures only quality

contractors’ participate in the bidding process for the project. Construction Management at Risk

Method (CMAR) ensures provision of input to the designer to increase constructability of designs

and to decrease schedule duration through overlapping of the design and construction phases. It

aims to reduce the risk of cost overrun and schedule creep and to expedite the construction process

without compromising quality. The Multi Criteria Evaluation Models considers many important

contractors attributes as the reason for awarding the contract. These include bid price/cost, time,

quality, managerial safety accountability, competence and sufficiency of contractors. Many factors

should be considered during the contractors’ qualification screening. The key components to be

examined are financial standing, technical ability, managerial capability, quality and current

projects backlog.

According to Olabosipo (2011) the five most important factors influencing the choice of

subcontractors by the clients and contractors, in three commercial nerve centers in Nigeria (Lagos,

Abuja and Port Harcourt) were: past experience in terms of size and type of projects completed,

management resource in terms of formal and informal training, project facilitation in terms on

labour and plant resources, past relationships with the clients and contractors ( past performance)

and other related issues in terms of nature of contract and time of the year ( weather).

The route taken by most major companies in the selection of a contractor are screening of enquiries,

inviting interest and specific statements of capability and resources, an invitation to bid from a

shortlist of suitable contractors, contract award based upon evaluation of bids in terms of technical

and commercial proposals, to complete sections of the design before letting corresponding

construction contracts and to minimize changes once construction starts (Arnold, 1999).

Evaluating which tenderer to award a contract requires assessment of the capability and relevant

experience of the tenderers. The client may want to obtain assurance from tenderers on a number of

different levels for example the tenderer’s financial stability and ability to carry out the works

tendered for, the tenderer’s reputation, the tenderer’s experience and management expertise, the

quality of the delivered product, interim products and deliverables, and application of technical

standards Mike (1998).

2.8 Project Funding Levels

Amongst the basic conditions for smooth project activity operations without stoppages and

unnecessary disruptions is regular and sufficient funding of the project. Regular and on schedule

progress of work activities on site require sufficient cash flow in order to facilitate procurement of

materials, plants and equipments on time as well as remuneration of labour force.

Some of the causes of delays in construction projects and poor performance in Malaysia noted were

insufficient capital delay in receiving the advance payment, financial resource management,

progress payment behind time and delay in payment of completed works from the owner to the

contractor. Contractors do not have strong financial background to keep the work in progress. When

the contractors’ cash flow is significantly affected this causes delay in procurement of resources.

Consequently time and cost performance of projects is affected (Tawil, 2013; Aftab, 2012).

2.9 Project Cost Control

Project cost control is an integral part of the management of a project. Project cost control aims at

controlling changes to the project budget and it provides management with cost related information

for making decisions with a view to complete the project specified quality, on time and within

budgeted costs (Chitkara, 2009). Controlling project costs entails development of a specific cost

control plan for each project which involves estimating costs of the project, creation of the project’s

budget and employment of cost control tools (Joseph,

2010).

2.9.1 Estimate Costs

During the initiation phase, the Project Manager prepares a preliminary cost estimate for

submission of bid to the potential client. Total Construction Cost Estimate is prepared by breaking

down the different parts of the Project; next, a cost is assigned to each of these smaller components;

then they are aggregated together to provide a quote for a certain portion of the Project. After all

these small components are assigned a cost and aggregated together, the project manager adds them

up to obtain a total construction cost estimate (Joseph, 2010).

Cost Control is necessary to have a master control estimate prepared during the project planning

stage. It is made up of direct costs, indirect cost and funds earmarked for contingencies and

escalation. During the execution stage, master control estimate is revised at a predetermined

frequency (say half yearly), and in its approved revision, is called current control estimate

(Chitkara, 2009).

2.9.2 Project Budget

Project budget is the well coordinated and management approved financial plan of operations,

indicating the amounts required for achieving assigned targets, and the expected receipts from sales

or the value of work done (Chitkara, 2009). Effective cost control of project costs requires

adherence to the project budget during implementation of the project.

2.9.3 Cost Control Tools

Cost control tools that are employed are variance analysis and earned value analysis. In variance

analysis the project manager compares the actual results with the planned results in a spreadsheet or

graph format to demonstrate how much variance there is between the actual results and the planned

results. Cost Variance is the difference between Budgeted Cost of Work Performed and Actual Cost

of Work Performed (Joseph, 2010; Chitkara, 2009).

(Cost Variance = BCWP – ACWP).

Earned Value Analysis (also referred to as Earned Value Management) is a project performance

measurement and monitoring tool as well as a forecasting tool. The cost performance of a project

can be determined as:

Project progress (%) = Budgeted cost of work performed x 100
Budgeted cost of total project

2.10 Project Scheduling

Project Schedule is a written or graphical representation of the contractor’s plan for completing a

construction project that emphasizes the elements of time and sequence. The plan will typically

identify the major work items (activities) and depict the sequence (logic) in which these work items

will be constructed to complete the project. Project schedule is also an estimate of the time required

to construct the project and is a valuable project control tool used to effectively manage

construction projects. When it is used properly, it allows management to control and measure the

pace of the work and provides the participants with the information to make timely decisions

(Theodore, 2009).

Making a schedule for a construction project means a plan with the sequence of operations and the

list of resources, i.e. work force, materials, machines, as they correspond to the project. Failure to

make a schedule or devising a wrong schedule can result in delay of a deadline and can cost the

various stakeholders in the project a lot of money so a proper and well established schedule can

help a lot to avoid excess costs and unwanted delays (Miklo’s, 1997).

2.10.1 Project Scheduling Techniques

Scheduling techniques can be classified as non network and network-based scheduling techniques.

The most common scheduling techniques used for construction projects are Narrative schedules,

Gantt Charts or bar charts, linear schedules, critical path method (CPM) schedules and program

evaluation and review techniques (PERT) (Miklo’s, 1997; Theodore, 2009).

2.10.1.1 Narrative Scheduling

Narrative schedule consists of a narrative description of the contractor’s planned construction

sequence and is typically submitted prior to the start of the work. For example, a narrative schedule

may tell the owner that the contractor plans to work across the project site in east to west fashion

(Theodore, 2009).

2.10.1.2 Gantt Chart or Bar Chart

It shows graphical representation of the duration of tasks against the progression of time. It is a

collection of activities listed vertically and the horizontal scale represents the time (Olateju, 2011;

Miklos, 1997).

A sample bar chart is reproduced in Fig 1 below

Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March

Excavations

Foundations

Roof

Mechanical

Electrical

Furnishings

Figure 1: An example bar chart for a small project

Bar chart is a good tool in scheduling of small projects and can be the best visualization form of any

size projects.

2.10.1.3 Linear Scheduling Method (LSM)

The horizontal axis plots time, the vertical axis plots location along the length of project or

percentage of the work performed. Individual activities are plotted separately and can be broken at

any time (Miklos, 1997).

2.10.1.4 Critical Path Method Schedules (CPM)

A CPM schedule is an arrow diagram or logic network of the work activities that graphically or

visually represents the construction plan. CPM contains all of the Project work items and connects

or links those work activities to one another according to their planned sequence. CPM schedule

strength lies in the ability to identify the critical path or the longest path of work through the

network which predicts the earliest date that the project can be completed. It’s a Project Network

Analysis technique used to determine which sequence of activities (path) has the least amount of

scheduling flexibility and therefore will most likely determine when the project can be completed.

CPM is a dynamic modeling tool that can identify issues and problems before they arise (Theodore,

2009; Olateju, 2011).

2.10.1.5 Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

PERT is an event-and-probability based network analysis system generally used in projects where

activities and their durations are difficult to define (Olateju, 2011). It is an event oriented network

analysis technique used to estimate project duration when individual activity duration estimates are

highly uncertain. PERT requires the user to set three durations that constitute the practical range of

the duration for each activity which is: – the optimistic duration (To); the most likely duration (Tm)

and the pessimistic duration (Tp). The optimistic duration is the amount of time the activity will

take if everything goes smoothly and efficiently. The pessimistic duration is the duration under the

worst- case scenario and both values must be within the realistic realm of expectations (Saleh,

2010).

The mean weighted value for these three durations is called the expected duration (Te). It is

calculated as follows;

Te = To + 4Tm + Tp
6

2.11 Summary of Literature Review

There are critical factors that contribute to the effectiveness of implementation of construction

projects. The influence of changes in construction designs on effective implementation of projects

was discussed by (Aftab, 2012; Oyewobi, 2012; Martin, 2004; Gahlot, 2004) as follows: poor

performance due to designs and documentation, defects in designs, need for adequate and accurate

drawings and specifications and realistic and detailed cost estimates.

From previous studies it has been established that selection of the most appropriate contractor

influences the implementation of construction project. Arazi (2011) talks of the most appropriate

contractor; Xiaohong (2011) says selection of the qualified contractor; Olabosipo (2011) refers to

past experience in terms of size and type of project; Arnold (1999) says shortlisting of suitable

contractors and Mike (1998) refers to assessing capacity and relevant experience.

Project funding levels has been identified as contributing factor to effectiveness in implementation

of projects. Tawil (2013) says insufficient funding affects projects while Aftab (2012) refers to

delays in payments for valuations of works done negatively impacts on projects

implementation.

Project cost control is very important as was observed by Joseph (2010) who talks of the need to

develop specific cost control plan for each project. Chitkara (2009) says a master control estimate

as well as control tools should be employed in projects in order to enhance project implementation

effectiveness.

Theodore (2009) says that project scheduling is crucial and estimation of the time required to

construct the project should be done. Miklos’ (1997) says a schedule is a plan with sequence of

operation and list of resources as well as project scheduling techniques.

2.12 Study gap to be filled

A number of studies have been undertaken on various aspects of construction industry which

include causes of projects delay, projects cost overrun, non-completion of projects, poor or sub

standard works not to specification, disputes in projects and loss of project finances. The review of

related literature reveal that this has been undertaken in other parts of the world with little evidence

of similar study as far as the local scene is concerned. As was noted in the introduction, the building

industry contributes significantly to the growth and development of any given economy in the

world hence the need for evaluation as well as careful monitoring in its performance.

Many construction projects continue to experience cost overruns, extensions and revisions in

completion dates while others end up stalling completely. As a consequence, the country loses a lot

of much needed financial resources which would be utilized elsewhere if the projects were

implemented successfully. There is a need to critically examine the factors that influence

effectiveness of implementation of construction projects hence the study of the ESP the case of

construction projects, Nairobi County so that the challenges of stalled construction projects can be

addressed adequately.

2.13 Conceptual Framework

The relationship between independent variables: – changes in Construction Designs, Contractors

Selection Process, Project Funding levels, Project Cost Control and Project Scheduling are

illustrated in figure 1.2, conceptual framework.

• Political interference
• Corruption Practices

Figure 2: Conceptual framework

Changes in Construction designs
• Defects in designs Intervening variables
• Incomplete drawings/ late Engineering
• Delay in receipt of final designs

Contractors Selection Process

• Bid price/ cost considerations
• Competence and sufficiency
of contractors
• Contractors’ experience

Project Funding Levels

• Insufficient capital
• Contractors weak financial
back ground

• Delay in payment of progress
Project funds

Project Cost Control mechanisms

• Accurate Cost estimates
• Preparation of Project budget
• Cost Control tools

Project scheduling

• Project duration estimation
• Use of Project schedule
Techniques – CPM, PERT,
Gantt/Bar Charts, Narrative and
Linear Scheduling

Independent variables Dependent variable

Effective Implementation of
ESP Construction Projects
• Timely completion of Projects
• Projects completed on budget
• Projects completed to Clients

satisfaction
• Delivery of Projects to

Specifications

2.13.1 Relationship between Variables

The relationship between the independent and dependent variables is discussed in the sections that

follow.

2.13.1.1 Changes in construction designs

Changes to construction design documents can significantly change the scope of the Project

necessitating amendments in the Project duration Scheduling, Project Costs, Procurement processes

and human resource management. The said changes could arise as a result of client’s requests,

incomplete drawings at the time of tendering process, errors and defects in designs or poor site

investigations leading to circumstances that were unforeseen. Such changes in design when Project

has already commenced has a bearing on Projects costs as well as Project Duration and could lead

to cost overruns and extended project durations.

2.13.1.2 Contractors Selection Process

The selection process of the contractor to undertake works should have a well defined criterion. The

criteria should be adhered to so as to facilitate selection of the right contractor to undertake the

works hence ensuring effectiveness in construction projects.

2.13.1.3 Project Funding Levels

Projects cannot run smoothly if funding is either insufficient or is not forthcoming. It is therefore of

utmost essence to facilitate and ensure adequate project funding is maintained throughout the life

cycle of the project so as to avoid delays in works or stalling of the project altogether. Delivery of

project on time also avoids unnecessary cost overruns and subsequent contractual disputes.

2.13.1.4 Project Cost control

Effectiveness in implementation of construction projects requires the exercise of project cost

control so as to avoid cost overruns. Execution of a project whose scope is beyond the available

financial resources can lead to cost overruns, delays in project completion, stalled projects as well

as contractual disputes. This eventually ends up with ineffective project implementation.

2.13.1.5 Project Scheduling

Project duration estimation should be realistic and the appropriate project scheduling tools should

be employed in project scheduling so as to achieve timely management of the project.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the research methodology as well as the research design adopted in carrying

out the research study. There is also description of the sources and types of data, sampling and

sampling procedure and the procedures of data collection.

3.2 Research Design

Research design provides a framework for the collection and analysis of data. Quantitative research

methodology is used in this research study and specifically survey design which is also called cross-

sectional design. The design is appropriate as survey design entails the collection of data on more

than one case and at a single point in time in order to collect a body of quantitative or quantifiable

data in connection with two or more variables, which are then examined to detect patterns of

association (Bryman, 2012). The study collected information and data from respondents on their

opinions and experiences on the factors influencing the effectiveness of implementation of ESP

Construction projects in Nairobi County.

3.3 Target Population

The study targeted all the ESP Building Construction Projects in Nairobi County designed and

implemented under the Supervision of Ministry of Public Works between July and December 2009.

The Target Population is made up of Thirty Seven (37) Building Projects falling under various

Government Departments.

3.4 Sampling and Sampling Procedures

Sampling is the act, process or technique of selecting a suitable sample or a representative part of a

population for the determining parameters or characteristics of the whole population. A sampling

frame is a list, directory or index of cases, that enables realization of a representative sample

(Donald, 2006; Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003).

Table 3.1: Sampling Frame

Project Department Population Percentage

Primary Schools 16 43.0

Secondary Schools 15 40.5

District Headquarters 5 13.5

CIDC 1 3.0

Totals 37 100

Source: County Public Works Office – Nairobi County, (2013)

3.4.1 Sample Size

A sample is the segment of the population that is selected for investigation. It is also small group

taken from a larger population composed of members being studied (Bryman, 2012; Maximiano,

2007). This research uses the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table of determining sample size from the

population as shown in Appendix 111. With a confidence level of 95%, and a margin of error of

5% and a target population of Thirty Seven (37) projects, the table gave a sample size of Thirty

Seven (37) ESP construction projects.

3.4.2 Sampling Techniques

Simple Random sampling technique was adopted in this research study to select respondents from

the Thirty Seven (37) ESP construction projects. The ESP construction projects were undertaken in

the Ministries of Education, Industrialization, and Provincial Administration and Internal Security.

The projects in the different ministries formed strata, the sample size of the Thirty Seven and were

all selected as shown in Table 3.2. Four lists of projects from the Four Ministries were produced

and used to obtain the same number of members for each sample strata.

Table 3.2: Sampling Table

Project Department Population Sample Percentage

Primary Schools 16 16 44.5

Secondary Schools 15 15 41.5

District Headquarters 5 5 11

CIDC 1 1 3

Totals 37 37 100

3.5 Data Collection Instruments

Respondents were requested to answer questions by completing the questionnaire supplied by the

researchers’ assistants. Thereafter the questionnaires, once filled, were collected by the researcher’s

assistants. One advantage is that the respondents were able to complete the questionnaires when

they want and at the speed that they want to go. The self completion questionnaires combined both

open and closed questions. In the open questions, the respondents were asked questions and

instructed to answer however they wish. In the closed question, the respondents were presented

with a set of fixed alternatives from which they chose the appropriate answer.

The questionnaire contained two Sections A and B. Section A asked questions pertaining to the

respondents’ personal details whereas Section B contained questions designed to capture the

respondents’ response to the research questions. Questionnaires were prepared on Likert Type scale

of one to five to sample the opinion of the respondents who were required to indicate their level of

assessment concerning concepts being measured. A five ordered response levels scale were used

which are: 5 = very great, 4 = great, 3 = minor, 2 = no effect, 1 = not sure.

3.5.1 Piloting of Instruments

Due to the importance and need to detect and determine weaknesses in the instrument that was

applied in the research study, the self administered questionnaire was pre-tested before distributing

it to the whole sample. The researcher used a colleague and respondents to evaluate and refine the

measuring instrument. Gathered proposed suggestions for amendments and adjustments were made

to produce an instrument for use in the field.

3.5.2 Validity of the Instruments

Content validity of the self administered questionnaires was established by carefully designing clear

and unambiguous questions making it easy for the respondents to easily answer all questions. The

study supervisor guided, offered advice and all necessary approvals in the input in the research

questionnaire hence enabling the content to address the purpose and avoided ambiguity.

3.5.3 Reliability of the Research Instrument

To establish internal consistency of research instrument a score obtained in one item was correlated

with scores obtained from other items in the instruments. Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha was

computed to determine how items correlate using the Kunder-Richardson (K-R) 20 formula.

The reliability’s benchmark in this study was a reliability correlation coefficient of 0.6 to 0.9. The

correlation coefficient of the administration was 0.75 and is within the recommended range, the

instrument was considered reliable and therefore used to collect data for the study.

3.6 Data Collection Procedures

Data collection was carried out through self administered questionnaire survey. Thirty Seven

experienced respondents were selected from each of the following three groups namely Clients,

Consultants and Contractors for participation in the survey. Data collection was undertaken after

approval of the questionnaire instrument. Telephone contacts and physical address of respondents

were obtained. The questionnaire was self administered. Deliveries were carried out, reminders

made and personal collection was done by the researcher and two research assistants. The

respondents were asked to fill the questionnaires in two weeks and then the researcher organized to

get the questionnaires back.

3.7 Data Analysis Techniques

The data that was collected was arranged in groups and the categorized into nominal, ordinal, ratio

and interval scales of measurements. Thereafter after coding, the organized data was analyzed by

use Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 17 computerized software. Open-ended

questions data that are qualitative in nature were then analyzed through deriving explanations and

interpretations of the findings by use of descriptions. Here the researcher was looking for

description of patterns and uniqueness in the data collected. Conclusions were made from numerical

values through quantification process for purposes of comparisons and validation of the findings.

The findings from the ground are presented through tables and percentages and frequencies used to

present descriptive analysis findings.

3.8 Ethical Considerations

This study handled ethical issues by instituting various measures commencing with the use of

introductory letter (Appendix 1) that sought consent and voluntary participation of the respondents.

The letter and the accompanying questionnaire communicated the purpose of the study and the

process of conduction of the study. The right of confidentiality and anonymity was also assured and

there was nowhere where identity of respondents was sought in the collection instruments. The data

that was gathered and information was treated in such a way that it was impossible to trace it to any

person or enterprise. The research study also treated all people with respect and courtesy.

Objectivity was the guiding principle throughout the research process including design, data

collection, analysis and interpretation of data.

Table 3.3: Operational definition of Variables

Objectives

Variable

Indicators

Measurement
Scale

Type of
Analysis

Influence of changes
in Construction
designs on effective
implementation on
projects

Construction
design changes

• Delay in project
commencement

• Completion delay
• Cost

variations/overruns
• Project quality

Nominal and
ordinal scales

Descriptive
Statistics

Influence of
contractor selection
process on effective
implementation on
projects

Contractor
Selection
process

• Lowest Bidder
• Financial capacity
• Technical Capacity
• Management

capacity
• Past Experience

similar projects

Nominal and
ordinal scales
Descriptive
Statistics

Influence of Project
Funding levels on
effective
implementation on
projects

Project Funding
levels

• Adequate funding
• Phased funding
• Intermittent funding
• Delays in payment

of progress
valuations

Nominal and
ordinal scales
Descriptive
Statistics

Influence of Project
cost control
mechanisms on
effective
implementation on
projects

Project Cost
Control
mechanisms

• Accuracy in project
cost estimates

• Project Budgeting
• Employment of Cost

control tools

Nominal and
ordinal scales
Descriptive
Statistics

Influence of Project
Scheduling on
effective
implementation on
projects

Project
Scheduling

• Project duration
estimation

• Project scheduling
tools

• Gantt charts,
CPM,PERT

Nominal and
ordinal scales
Descriptive
Statistics

Dependent Variable

Effective

Implementation

of ESP
construction
Projects

• Timely project
delivery

• Project completion
on budget

• Project delivered as
per specifications

• Projects delivered to
clients satisfaction

Ordinal and
interval scales

Descriptive
Statistics

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

4.0 Introduction

Chapter four is a presentation of analysis of data obtained from the fielded items in the study

questionnaire. From the findings, analysis and presentation was done through frequency tables,

numerical values and percentages produced through Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS)

(Version 17) computer software. Thereafter there is presentation and then a brief description which

is guided by the objectives of the research and a discussion on the research findings from the

analysis of the data.

4.1 Response rate of the study

The questionnaires were distributed to 37 randomly selected respondents and 36 were completed

and returned, giving a response rate of 97.00 %. This compares with Ade (2013) in which 30

selected respondents were contacted and the response was 21 which translates to 70% response rate.

The collection procedures entailed personal administration, follow up after distribution of

questionnaires through mobile phone calls for confirmation date when they would be ready for

collection and personal collection whenever possible. The response rate was found to be sufficiently

adequate for analysis and for discussions of the study findings when compared to other results in

the construction industry by Aftab (2010) – 71.11%, Abdullah (2011) – 82.2% and Haseeb (2011) –

60%. The unreturned questionnaire 1(3.0%) could be attributed to delay on the part of the

respondent completing and hence being unable to return by 3rd July 2013.

Table 4.1: Response rate of the study

The response rate of the study is indicated in Table 4.1 below.

Results Frequency Percentage (%)

Respondents 36 97

Non Respondents 1 3

Total 37 100

4.2 Background of the respondents

The demographic characteristics of the respondents are analyzed in terms of gender, highest

educational level, age and categories and as shown below.

4.2.1 Gender profile of the respondents

The respondents indicated their gender profile in terms of either male or female in order to

determine the nature of gender relations in the construction industry. Table 4.2 illustrates gender

profile of the sample.

Table 4.2: Gender of respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage (%)

Male 33 94

Female 3 6

Total 36 100

The study found that 33 (94 %) respondents were male and 3 (6%) female. The results indicate the

construction industry is dominated by the male gender who account for the overwhelming majority

of the respondents. The study results compare well and are consistent with the study of Zaherawati

(2010) in which all the respondents were of the male gender i.e. 100% confirming that the industry

is male dominated.

4.2.2 Highest education level

The respondents were requested to state the highest level of achievement for academic

qualifications. Table 4.3 illustrates the levels of qualification for the entire sample.

Table 4.3: Highest education level

Education level Frequency Percentage (%)

Certificate 0 0

Diploma 6 16

Degree 20

Masters 10 28

Phd 0 0

Other 0 0

Total 36 100

The respondents are largely degree as well as post graduate degree holders. More than half 20

(56%) of the respondents had a first degree, 10 (28%) respondents had masters degree and 6 (16%)

respondents had a diploma. There was neither PHD nor Certificate holders from the respondents.

This is consistent with Ameh (2011) study who observed that 67 % of the respondents had a first

degree or its equivalent. Ade (2013) study, he observed that all the respondents had obtained

degrees and above qualifications i.e. 100%. This shows that the respondents are capable and reliable

to explore the underpinning issues related to the study.

4.2.3 Age of respondents

The respondents stated their age brackets as requested in the questionnaire and the results are

shown in table 4.4 below.

Table 4.4: Age of respondents

Ages Frequency Percentage (%)

20 -29 yrs 0 0

30 – 39 yrs 6 17

40 – 49 yrs 20 55

50 – 59 yrs 9 25

60 yrs and above 1 3

Total 36 100

Majority of the respondents 20 (55%) fall within 40 to 49 years of age. This is followed by 9 (25%)

in the age group of 50 to 59 years. There are 6 (17%) respondents in the age of 30 to 39 years. The

age bracket of 60 years and above had only 1 (3%) respondent. A cumulative 72% of the

respondents are within 30 – 49 years. Ameh (2011) study made similar observations whereby 91%

of the respondents were within 30 – 49 years of age.

4.2.4 Classification of respondents

The questionnaires were distributed to the stakeholders in the construction industry and these are

clients (employers), consultants and contractors. The response is shown in table 4.5.

Table 4.5: Classification of respondents

Participants Frequency Percentage (%)

Client 13 36

Consultant 13 36

Contractor 10 28

Total 36 100

Table 4.5 indicates that the respondents comprised of 13 (36%) from Clients, 13 (36%) from

Consultants while Contractors respondents accounted for 10 (28%) of the respondents. The three

categories of respondents are the main stakeholders as well as participants in the construction

industry and it was therefore necessary to engage and involve them in this study so as to obtain their

varied and different perspectives and experiences. In Nagapan (2012) study, the respondents

comprised of 51% Contractors, 34% were consultants and 15% of the respondents were Clients.

4.2.5 Cross tabulation of classification of respondents and highest education level

Cross tabulation is intended to summarize data so as to reveal relationship between two variables;

in this case classification of respondents and highest education level. The stakeholders targeted in

the study were Clients, Consultants and Contractors and they are the main participants in the

construction industry. The analysis of the cross tabulation is shown on Table 4.6.

Table 4.6 Cross tabulation of classification of respondents and highest education level

Highest education level

Respondents Diploma Degree and above Total

No. % No % No %

Client 2 6 11 30 13 36

Consultant 0 0 13 36 13 36

Contractor 4 11 6 17 10 28

Total 6 17 30 83 36 100

The study found that 30 (83%) respondents from the three participants (Clients, Consultants and

Contractors) had degree and above qualifications while only 6 (17%) had diploma. All the

consultants respondents 13 (36%), 11 (30%) client respondents and 6 (17%) contractors

respondents had degree qualifications. Only 2 (6%) client respondents and 4 (11%) contractor

respondents had diploma qualifications.

4.3 Presentation of analysis according to research questions

The research data from the questionnaire was used to investigate how the respondents rated the

influence of changes in construction designs, contractors selection process, project funding levels,

project cost control mechanisms and project scheduling models on effectiveness of implementation

of economic stimulus programme construction projects.

4.3.1 Influence of changes in construction designs on effectiveness of implementation of

Construction projects

Changes in construction designs may and normally occur during the implementation stage of the

construction project. When this happens, other aspects of the project may be influenced one way or

the other. It becomes imperative to monitor the impact occasioned by the said changes in

construction designs. The respondents were asked to indicate whether there were such changes in

the ESP construction projects during implementation. Table 4.7 shows the responses to the

questionnaire item.

Table 4.7: Construction Design changes at implementation stage

Changes Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 32 89

No 4 11

Total 36 100

Of the total respondents a huge majority 32 (89%) indicated there changes in construction designs.

The observation was also made by Aftab (2012) who says that frequent design changes is a

common practice which is a major inhibiting factor in successful completion of projects.

4.3.2 Reasons for Changes in Construction Designs

The study also set out to establish reasons for changes in construction designs. Table 4.8 illustrates

the responses by the study sample.

Table 4.8: Causes for changes in construction designs

Cause for design change Frequency Percentage (%)

Request by client 10 28

Delay in final designs completion 0 0

Changes in funding levels 22

Changes in scope of works 3 8

Defects in designs 1 2

Total 36 100

With regard to construction design changes, the study found that 22 (62%) respondents indicated

changes in funding levels occasioned the said changes. 10 (28%) respondents said design changes

were as a result of request from clients while only 3 (8%) and 1 (2%) indicated design changes were

as a result of changes in scope of works and defects in designs respectively.

4.3.3 Influence of changes in construction designs on effective construction project

Implementation

The study asked the respondents to rate the extent to which changes in construction designs

influence the effectiveness of construction project implementation. The areas that were rated as

being influenced by the design changes were: Delay in Project commencement, Project costs

variations/ overruns, Project completion delay and Project quality Control. Likert scale for rating

was used as follows ; Major Effect = 5 ; Average Effect = 4 ; Small Effect = 3 ; No Effect = 2 ; Not

Sure = 1. The ratings are analyzed as shown on Table 4.9.

Table 4.9: Influence of Changes in Designs on Effective Construction Projects

Implementation

Influence on N Mean Std. Deviation

Delay in project commencement 36 3.53 1.207

Project Costs variations 36 3.94 1.105

Project Completion delay 36 3.72 1.223

Project Quality Control 36 2.83 1.050

The study indicates that the rating of influence of changes in designs on project cost variations for

effective construction projects implementation was ranked highest with a mean of 3.94 and a

standard deviation of 1.105, Project Completion delay was ranked second with a mean of 3.72 and a

standard deviation of 1.223. Delay in project commencement was rated third with a mean of 3.53

and a standard deviation of 1.207 while project quality control was ranked lowest with a mean of

2.83 and a standard deviation of 1.050. The results are consistent with a study by Ameh (2011)

where he observed that design changes during project execution causes time overruns hence

completion delay whose mean ranking rate was 3.70.

4.4 Influence of Contractors Selection process on effectiveness of Implementation

Construction projects

Contractors’ selection process has influence on effectiveness on implementation of construction

projects.

4.4.1 Tender Evaluations Process

The respondents were asked to indicate who undertakes Tender Evaluation for construction projects

and the results are as shown in Table 4.10.

Table 4.10: Tender Evaluations done by clients, consultants or consultants and clients

Respondent Frequency Percentage (%)

Clients 4 11

Consultants 6 17

Consultants and Clients 26

Total 36 100

From table 4.10, 26 (72%) respondents indicated that tender evaluations are undertaken by both

consultants and clients. Only 4 (11%) and 6(17%) of the respondents said that tender evaluations

are undertaken by clients and consultants respectively.

4.4.2 Factors influencing the selection of a contractor in a construction project

The respondents were asked to rate the extent to which the following factors influenced selection of

a contractor to undertake construction project. The selection of a capable contractor who guarantees

delivery of the project would be procured when the process of tender evaluation is undertaken under

the prescribed professional criteria. The criteria indicated in the questionnaire were; Contractor’s

financial capacity; Technical capacity; Contractor’s Bid/ lowest bidder, Past experience – size and

type of projects, Past relationship with clients/ contractors and Management resource – formal and

informal. Likert scale of rating used was: Very Great = 5; Great = 4; Minor = 3; No. Effect = 2; Not

Sure = 1.

Table 4.11: Contractors’ selection factors influence on project implementation

Factor N Mean Std. Deviation

Contractor’s financial capacity 36 4.520 0.842

Technical capacity 36 4.472 0.764

Contractor’s Bid/ lowest bidder 36 4.056 0.996

Past experience (size and type of projects) 36 4.361 0.856

Past relationship with clients/ contractors 36 3.361 1.378

Management resource 36 3.194 1.222

_______________________________________________________________________________

From the study the respondents’ ranked contractor’s financial capacity as the highest with a mean

rate of 4.52 and a standard deviation of 0.842, Technical capacity as a factor was ranked second

with a mean rate of 4.472 and a standard deviation of 0.764. Past experience both size and type of

projects was ranked third with a mean rate of 4.361 and a standard deviation of 0.856 and

contractors’ bid/lowest bidder was ranked fourth with a mean rate of 4.056 and a standard deviation

of 0.996. Past relationship with clients/ contractors was ranked fifth with a mean rate of 3.361 and a

standard deviation of 1.378 while management resource was ranked lowest with a mean rate of

3.194 and a standard deviation of 1.222. The results of the study are supported by Antohie (2009)

who says improper selection of contractors occurs when they are selected as a result of the proposed

bids and negotiated and not as a result of professional experience and technical ability to achieve

the construction works. When this happens, the result is depicted in terms of implementation delays

and additional costs due to non quality.

4.5 Project Funding Levels

In project funding, the study looks at funding influence on effectiveness on construction projects

implementation.

4.5.1 Project funding influence on effective construction project implementation

The respondents were asked to indicate whether project funding level influences effective

construction projects implementation and the results are shown on Table 4.12.

Table 4.12: Project funding influence on effective construction project implementation

Funding Influence Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 36 100

No. 0 0

Total 36 100

The study found that project funding level influences effective construction project implementation

as all the respondents i.e. 36 (100%) were in consensus on this factor. This is consistent with

Rahman (2013) study and he says financial stability of contractors and adequate cash flow is very

critical in keeping construction progress as planned.

4.5.2 Rating Funding Levels influence on project implementation

The respondents were asked to rate the funding levels influence on project implementation. The

study undertook to investigate the following funding levels factors influence on effective project

implementation: Sufficiency in funding; Absorption of allocated funds; Contractor financial

capacity; late payments to contractors and Irregular funds disbursements. The Likert scale ratings

were: Very great = 5; Great = 4; Minor = 3; No Effect = 2; Not Sure = 1. The results are indicated

on Table 4.13.

Table 4.13: Project Funding levels influence rating on effective project implementation

Project funding level N Mean Std. Deviation

Sufficiency in funding 36 4.889 0.635

Absorption of allocated funds 36 3.833 1.214

Contractor’s financial capacity 36 4.361 0.788

Late payments to contractor 36 4.472 0.765

Irregular funds disbursements 36 4.639 0.479

The respondents ranked sufficiency in funding as the highest with a mean of 4.889 and a standard

deviation of 0.635 and irregular funds disbursements with a mean of 4.639 and a standard deviation

of 0.479 in second place. The respondents ranked late payments to contractors in third place with a

mean of 4.472 and standard deviation of 0.765 and contractors financial capacity in fourth place

with a mean of 4.361 and standard deviation of 0.788. Absorption of allocated funds was ranked

lowest with a mean of 3.833 and standard deviation of 1.214. The outcome of the study agrees with

Ameh (2011) in which he observed that inadequate funds for the project leads to time overrun

thereby negatively impacting on construction project implementation. Adequate funding guarantees

reasonable cash flow. There should, therefore, be effective funding of project by project owners to

avoid unnecessary time overrun with its attendant effect on cost. The study results also agree with

Tawil (2013) who observes that financial resources are the most prominent critical factors in

effective project implementation. He states that insufficient capital and progress payment negatively

affects progress of work in a construction site.

4.6 Project Cost Control

The respondents were requested to respond to aspects under project cost control on accuracy in

preparation of project costs, budgets for construction projects and project costs control.

4.6.1 Preparation of accurate project costs

The study wanted to find out whether preparation of project costs in respect

of construction projects

is done accurately. The respondents’ results are as shown in Table 4.14.

Table 4.14: Project Costs preparation

Project Costs Preparation Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 26 72

No 10 28

Total 36 100

The study found out that an overwhelming 26 (72%) of the respondents indicated that accurate

construction project costs are prepared. 6 (28%) of the respondents said that the project costs that

are prepared are not accurate. This outcome is supported by Antohie (2010) who states that at the

early stage of development of the construction project, cost estimate is needed to understand the

financial feasibility of the project. The outcome is also consistent with Arafa (2011) who says early

stage cost estimates plays a significant role in any initial construction project decisions and is

crucial element of any construction project.

4.6.2 Preparation of budgets for construction projects

The study set out to find whether budgets are prepared in respect of construction projects. Table

4.15 shows the results from the respondents.

Table 4.15: Project Budgets preparation

Projects Budgets Preparation Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 29

No 7 20

Total 36 100

The study found out that an overwhelming 29 (80%) of the respondents indicated that construction

project budgets are prepared while 7 (20%) indicated that they are not prepared. This is consistent

with Antohie (2010) who says estimates of the budgets of the various stages of project

implementation are prepared. These budgets are grouped in a cost plan which is a summary of all

project costs for construction. Estimates made after start of actual implementation of the project are

necessary for cost control.

4.6.3 Adherence to budgets at implementation stage of construction projects

The study set out to find whether there is adherence to budgets during the implementation stage of

the construction projects. The respondents were asked to rank the level of adherence. The Likert

scale ratings were: Very High = 5; High = 4; Average = 3; None = 2; Not Sure = 1. Table 4.16

shows the results of the rankings from the respondents.

Table 4.16: Project budgets adherence

Projects Budgets Adherence Frequency Percentage (%)

Very High 7 20

High 12 33

Average 17 47

None 0 0

Not Sure 0 0

Total 36 100

From Table 4.16, 7(20%) respondents indicated that adherence to project budgets is very high while

12(33%) rated it as high. 17 (47%) respondents’ ranked budgeting adherence at average level.

4.6.4 Project Cost Control in construction projects

The study set out to find whether project cost control is done in construction projects. Table 4.17

shows the results from the respondents.

Table 4.17: Project Costs Control

Projects Costs Control Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 31 86

No 5 14

Total 36 100

The outcome of the study indicates 31 (86%) of the respondents said there are cost control measures

during project implementation. Only 5 (14%) of the respondents said that there are no cost control

measures. The study outcome is in agreement with Antohie (2010) study who observes that cost

control programs estimating is required to facilitate the control of expenditure of funds on a project.

4.6.5 Project Cost control influence on effective implementation

The respondents were asked to rate the project cost control influence on effective project

implementation. The study undertook to investigate the following project cost control factors

influence on effective implementation of construction projects: Project Estimates; Project

Budgeting; Cost Variances/ Financial appraisals. The ratings were: Very great = 5; Great = 4;

Minor = 3; No Effect = 2; Not Sure = 1. The results are indicated on Table 4.18

Table 4.18: Project Cost Control influence on project implementation

Project Cost Control N Mean Std. Deviation

Project Estimates 36 4.667 0.743

Project Budgeting 36 4.611 0.756

Cost Variances/ Financial Appraisal 36 4.389 0.657

From the study the respondents ranked project estimates preparation as the highest with a mean rate

of 4.667 and standard deviation of 0.743, Project budgeting was ranked second with a mean rate of

4.611 and standard deviation of 0.756 while cost variances/ financial appraisals was ranked lowest

with a mean rate of 4.389 and standard deviation of 0.657. The outcome of the study is consistent

with the results of Challal (2012) who observed in his study that the most serious deadline slippages

are due to, among others, errors in the estimate of the initial budget assessment with criticality of

100 and was ranked 1.

4.7 Project Scheduling

Construction projects have definite start and a determined finish date hence the essence of project

scheduling for purposes of planning for material resources, plants and equipments, manpower as

well as financial resources. Project Scheduling guides and assists in planning at what specific dates

the aforementioned resources will be required to be sourced and procured to forestall unnecessary

delays and stoppages of works on site.

4.7.1 Project Duration Estimation

The study investigated whether project duration estimation is done in respect of construction works.

The respondents were asked to indicate whether duration estimation is carried out. Table 4.19

shows the results as obtained from the respondents.

Table 4.19: Project Duration Estimation

Duration Estimation Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 31 86

No 5 14

Total 36 100

From table 4.19, 31 (86%) respondents said that project duration estimation is normally done while

only 5 (14%) of the respondents said the same is not done. In his study outcome, Memon (2011)

noted that unrealistic contract duration is most significant and common factor affecting construction

work in terms of cost.

4.7.2 Tools and Techniques of Project Scheduling in Construction Projects

The following tools and techniques are applied during project scheduling and the respondents were

asked to state which specific one are employed in the construction projects from amongst the

following: Narrative Scheduling; Linear Scheduling; Gantt Charts/ Bar Charts; Critical Path

Analysis and finally Program Evaluation and Review Techniques. The results of the outcome are

shown in Table 4.20.

Table 4.20: Project Scheduling Tools and Techniques

Projects Tools and Techniques Frequency Percentage (%)

Narrative 6 18

Linear 4 11

Gantt Charts 12 33

Critical Path Analysis 7 19

Program Evaluation and Review Techniques 7 19

Total 36 100

From the outcome of the study, 12 (33%) of the respondents ranked Gantt/ Bar Charts highest as the

tool and technique employed in project scheduling. This was followed by both Critical Path

Analysis (CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT) each with 7 (19%) of the

respondents. Narrative scheduling was ranked fourth with 6 (18%) of the respondents. Linear

scheduling as a project scheduling tool and technique was ranked lowest with 4 (11%) of the

respondents. The results are in agreement with the study of Sawalhi (2012) who observed that Gantt

chart is the most widely used tool because of its simplicity and applicability in all phases. However

the study outcome is inconsistent with Sawalhi (2012) result stating that the use of networks i.e.

CPM and PERT is considerably low.

4.7.3 Project Scheduling influence on effective construction project implementation

The respondents in this study were asked to rate the influence of project scheduling on effectiveness

in construction projects implementation. The analysis of the results is shown on Table 4.21.

Table 4.21: Project scheduling influence on project implementation

Project Scheduling Frequency Percentage (%)

Very High 12 33

High 21 58

Minor 2 6

No Effect 0 0

Not Sure 1 3

Total 36 100

From Table 4.21, 12 (33%) respondents indicate project scheduling has very high impact on

effective project implementation. There are 21 (58%) respondents who believe project scheduling

has high influence on effective project implementation while only 2 (6%) indicated that project

scheduling has minor influence on effective project implementation. 1 (3%) respondent was not

sure whether project scheduling has any influence on effective project implementation. The results

are consistent with Memon (2011) findings who stated that contract duration is very important

factor for success of any project as it ensures the completion of any work within the estimated time

and cost. If contract duration is not estimated correctly, project might delay resulting in cost

overruns hence affecting project implementation negatively. Challal (2012) made similar

observations that error in scheduling, in piloting and coordination during the construction stage

leads to serious deadline slippages and hence influencing project implementation.

4.8 Influence of study variables on the effectiveness of construction project

Implementation

The variables of this study were: Changes in construction designs, Contractors’ Selection Process,

Project Funding Levels, Project Cost Control and Project Scheduling. The respondents were

requested to rate the variables influence on effectiveness of Construction projects implementations.

The rate for scoring ranged from 5 (Very Great), 4 (Great), 3 (Minor), 2 (No Influence) and 1 (Not

Sure) on the Likert Scale. The method used to analyze data of study variables influence on

effectiveness of implementation of construction projects is the Relative Importance Index (IIR).

This index quantifies the relative importance of the study variables as were outlined in the

introduction chapter that is: Changes in construction designs, Contractors’ selection process, project

funding levels, project cost control and project scheduling mechanisms. It is calculated as follows:

i=A

IIR = ∑ ni x i
i=1
__________________________

A X N

ni: the number of respondents having given a rating of i to the variable in question.

A: the highest rating that is 5 in this case.

N: the total number of respondents.

This relative importance index varies between 0 and 1.

Table 4.22: Relative Importance Index analysis of influences of study variables on

effectiveness of implementation of construction projects.

Weights Very Great Great Minor No Effect Not Sure N ∑ ini IIR
Variable (i =5) (i=4) (i=3) (i=2) (i=1)

Construction
Design changes 8 12 8 5 3 36 125 0.6944

Contractors
Selection process 16 10 5 3 2 36 143 0.7944

Project funding 22 11 2 0 1 36 161 0.8944

Cost Control 24 11 0 0 1 36 165 0.91

Project
Scheduling 12 21 2 0 1 36 151 0.8389

From table 4.22, the respondents indicated project cost control has the highest influence on

effective implementation of construction projects the highest with IIR of 0.9167. Project funding

was second following very closely with IIR of 0.8944. Project scheduling was third with IIR of

0.8389 while contractors’ selection process was fourth with IIR of 0.7944. Construction design

changes were ranked lowest with IIR of 0.6944.

4.9 Summary of Data Analysis

With a response rate of 97.00 %, the respondents indicated that Project Cost Control is the most

influential factor in the effectiveness of construction project implementation. The relative

importance index of project cost control on influence of effectiveness in construction project

implementation was 0.9167 which implies strong influence. This factor is closely followed by the

Project Funding Levels factor which had a relative importance index of 0.8944. When it comes to

the details of the cost control factor, 86% of the respondents said project cost control is normally

done during construction project implementation while 80% said that project budgets for

construction contracts are prepared to assist the project implementation process. 72% of the

respondents indicated that project costs estimates are prepared for construction projects before

commencement.

All the respondents said project funding is a critical factor in the influence of effectiveness of

construction project implementation. Sufficiency of project funds was rated at a high mean rate of

4.889 by the respondents while irregular funds disbursements’ influence on effectiveness of

implementation was mean rated at 4.639. Although 89% of the respondents indicated that there are

normally changes in construction designs during implementation mainly due to changes in funding

levels as indicated by 62% of the respondents, the influence of this factor was ranked lowest at a

mean rate of 3.47. Changes in construction designs influence on project quality control was rated at

mean value of 2.83 on the Likert scale.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY

5.1 Introduction

The following chapter presents a summary of the study findings and comes up with conclusions

based on the outcome of the data collected and analyzed. In the chapter, recommendations to the

Government and other stakeholders in the construction industry will be made on a number of

aspects within the industry that require to be addressed so as to facilitate effectiveness in projects’

delivery to the satisfaction of the clients and other beneficiaries. Further research areas will also be

outlined in this chapter.

5.2 Summary of Findings

Respondents of the study comprised consultants, contractors and clients. The outcome shows that

on the issue of gender, the industry is male dominated implying gender imbalance. The respondents

had attained high education at the level of degree and above, the consultants occupying the highest

percentage of 36% in comparison to the clients’ 30% and contractors’ 17%. The response rate of

97 % was considered very adequate for the study. The study investigated the influence of changes

in construction designs, contractors’ selection process, project funding levels, project cost control

mechanisms and project scheduling on the effectiveness on implementation of construction

projects. The Relative importance index of influence of changes in construction designs on

effectiveness on project implementation was lowest 0.6944 while project cost control, project

funding levels, project scheduling and contractors’ selection process relative importance index on

influence on effectiveness were 0.9167, 0.8944, 0.8389 and 0.7944 following one another in that

order.

5.3 Discussion of the Findings

The study findings show changes in construction designs influence effectiveness in construction

project implementation. This is consistent with Aftab (2012) findings who say frequent design

changes commonly practiced is a major inhibiting factor in achieving successful completion of

projects. He continues to observe that a major contributor to poor performance in projects is design

and documentation issues, project management and contract administration. The same is supported

by Muhamad (2011) who says construction design changes and issues cause delays in construction

projects. Those issues include inaccuracies, incomplete drawings leading to design changes and late

engineering.

Contractors’ Selection process is another factor that was found to have its share of influence on

effectiveness in implementation of construction projects. Xiaohong (2011) concurs on this factor

and observes that construction contractors have big influences upon projects and their successes and

says it’s therefore very critical to select a qualified contractor. Mike (1998) agrees and says the

client may in addition want assurance from the tenderers (contractors) on the contractors’ financial

stability, technical capacity, experience and management experience.

The study, too, found project funding levels factor influences effectiveness of projects

implementation. Funding facilitates operations of the project and mode of financing the

construction project influences effectiveness of implementation. Inadequate funding or lack of it

negatively impacts on the implementation of the project since no operations can continue which in

most cases leads to extended contract periods and escalation of contract sums, claims on interest on

delayed payments, fluctuation of materials and labour prices, claims on loss of profit and idle plants

and equipments. These findings are in agreement with Rahman (2013) who observed financial

stability of contractors and adequate cash flow is critical in keeping construction progress as

planned. Ameh (2011) says that inadequate funds lead to time overrun and adequate funding

guarantees reasonable cash flow. There should, therefore, be effective funding of project by project

owners to avoid unnecessary time overrun with its attendant effect on cost

The study has established that Project Cost Controls influences effectiveness of implementation of

construction projects. The mean rate for this variable was ranked highest. This agrees with Griffin

(2010) who noted every project has a limited budget and there is a point beyond which there are no

remaining resources to fund the work of the project. He continued to say that measures to make

certain the cost estimates for the project are reasonable and acceptable should be taken.

On the factor of Project scheduling, the findings indicate the factor has influence on effectiveness of

implementation of projects. Memon (2011) makes similar findings and says unrealistic contract

durations in project scheduling are significant and common factors affecting construction work in

terms of cost. Challal (2012) adds and says error in scheduling, in piloting and coordination during

the construction stage leads to serious deadline slippages and hence affecting project

implementation.

5.4 Conclusions of the study

The construction industry is a major component, a key contributor and major player in the

economic development of any given economy. It provides numerous employment opportunities to

the skilled, semi skilled and unskilled segments of society’s labour force, offers market for

construction materials hence uplifting living standards to many people and provides the

infrastructural platform for further economic development. Due to numerous advantages derived

from the industry to the economy, it is critical and imperative to facilitate its effectiveness in

performance and delivery. The study has revealed the factors the industry faces as hindrances in its

endeavor to effectively deliver on projects in terms of time, costs, specifications and clients

expectations.

Project cost control functions need to be up scaled over the entire life of the project and more at

implementation. In addition project funding aspects need to be implemented right from the project

initiation stages through completion and closure. Project scheduling functions should be carried out

early enough and should be as realistic as they can. Contractors’ selection process should be

carried out incorporating all the necessary professional expertise by experienced construction

industry experts so as to ensure the best and most competent contractor for the project in question is

procured and awarded the contract. Constant changes in construction designs should be reduced as

much as is practicable.

5.5 Recommendations of the study

Clients and stakeholders in the construction industry invest huge sums of capital into construction

projects with expectations of getting value for their money from the final product. In other words,

clients’ and stakeholders’ have high expectations. Further, the construction industry entails and

consumes huge figures in terms of finances, materials, human capital and technology. The

economic benefits that are derived from very efficient construction sector that is delivering are

numerous both to the investors, developers and the country in general. The need for effectiveness

and efficiency of the construction industry, therefore, cannot be overemphasized. It’s surprising to

note that the sector is one of the key indicators of economic development of a country.

The construction industry within the public sector in Kenya has had its fair share of ineffectiveness

leading to non delivery as is evidenced by the many projects that have cost and time overruns as

well as quality issues. Rarely is construction projects completed practically within the original

contract period and original contract sums. In most cases, quality of the final product is below

expectations rendering the client and other stakeholders dissatisfied. The study suggests areas that

need to be addressed in order to alleviate the current situation in order to deliver projects that meet

clients’ expectations hence a satisfied customer.

The study suggests the need to apply all the project cost control mechanisms proactively. First and

foremost, accurate and realistic preliminary estimates should be prepared by professionals like the

Quantity Surveyors, Cost Engineers, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers. This process should be

undertaken even as the developments of designs unfold. The information so arrived at should be

communicated to the client and developer in order to confirm availability of funding. Alternatively,

designs should be developed bearing in mind the allocated amount of funds for the specific projects

a process known as designing to cost. This forestalls a situation of designing projects whose scope

is beyond the funds available or allocated.

The other issue is budgeting. Project budgets should be prepared and this should depict the

approved financial plan of the operations, indicating the amounts required for achieving assigned

targets and the expected value of the work. Variance Analysis and financial appraisals should form

a critical component of the contract management and administration. Other cost control tool like

Earned Value Analysis when applied in construction projects assists to determine the cost

performance of a project.

The study suggest that clients or developers, once they receive communication regarding cost

estimates of the proposed project, should without delay confirm availability of adequate funds to

undertake the project and in what arrangement the funds will be forthcoming. The client should

facilitate adequate and sufficient funds to the project and ensure he deals with unexpected delay in

payments to the contractors as work progresses on site. This enables contractors to organize their

operations and activities as well as prepare the projects cash flow requirements.

The study suggests that Project scheduling should entail as realistic time period as is practicable for

the duration required constructing the project. The project schedule should bear in mind the list of

resources i.e. work force, materials, machines since they correspond to the project. Different

program scheduling tools should be applied depending on the size, nature and complexity of the

project. CPM scheduling tool should be applied where there is ability to identify the critical path or

the longest path of work through the network which predicts the earliest date that the project can be

completed. PERT would best be suited in highly uncertain individual activity durations estimate.

Bar/ Gantt charts are good tools in scheduling of small projects which are not complicated and can

be the best visualization form of any size projects.

With regard to Contractors selection process, the study suggests Pre- qualification Method. This

model evaluates contractor’s competence which ensures only quality contractors are invited to

participate in the bidding process for the project. Multi Criteria Evaluation Model is another one

suggested for contractor’s selection. The model entails consideration of many important

contractors’ attributes like competence and sufficiency of contractor in financial capacity, bid

price/cost, technical capacity, managerial ability, past experience in terms of size and complexity of

projects and current workload.

On the aspect of constant changes to construction designs, the study suggests that this should be

kept to the minimum possible number. This can be achieved through allocating sufficient and

reasonable time period for development of construction designs. The clients should be clear in their

minds what they intend to develop and hence provide sufficient briefing details to the consultants

(Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors) who have been engaged to undertake the

construction designs. Approvals of the designs with the clients and other relevant stakeholders

should be obtained before commencement of implementation of the project. If changes to

construction designs are inevitable, then the financial as well as time extension implications should

be quantified as soon as is practicable and the same approved. In addition, the clients should

confirm that they engage and consult the services of qualified persons to undertake the construction

designs. This would ensure quality construction designs are provided and adopted in construction

sites. Short cuts in approvals, in supervision of ongoing projects should also be discouraged and

adherence to specifications is suggested so as to guarantee high quality end product that is

satisfactory to the clients and other stakeholders in general.

5.6 Suggestions for further Studies

Research is a continuous process and hence the need to study further. This will contribute further to

enhancement of effectiveness of this very important sector of the economy. In the study, issues of

changes in construction designs, contractors selection process, project funding levels, project cost

control and project scheduling were addressed. The study was therefore not exhaustive with regard

to factors influencing effectiveness of implementation of construction projects and recommendation

for further research in this area is necessary. Such a study would go a long way in identifying many

challenges and constraints the construction industry encounters in its endeavor to become efficient

and effective. The areas include;

1. Study into the effectiveness of quality management principles in public construction

Industry.

2. Investigation into the effectiveness of approval policies and procedures in implementation of

public construction industry.

3. The effectiveness of construction project management in the public construction industry.

4. Investigation into the level of clients’ contribution towards successful public construction

projects.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

DAVID MWAI KOGI,

P.O. BOX 7338-00200,

NAIROBI.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Factors influencing the effectiveness of implementation of the Economic Stimulus
Programme, the case of construction projects in Nairobi County, Kenya

I am a Master of Arts (Project Planning and Management) student at the University of Nairobi-

Nairobi Extra Mural Centre. My Registration Number is L50/68576/2011. I am conducting a study

on ‘Factors influencing the effectiveness of implementation of the Economic Stimulus Programme,

the case of Construction Projects in Nairobi County.’

You have been randomly selected to assist in the study by way of participating in answering the

questionnaire. You are kindly requested to respond to all the questions as this will be very useful to

this study.

I take this opportunity to assure you that all personal details will be treated with utmost

confidentiality and will therefore not be divulged to anyone whatsoever.

Thank you for your participation.

David Mwai Kogi

APPENDIX 11

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STAKEHOLDERS IN ESP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

This questionnaire is to be completed by stakeholders i.e. clients, consultants and contractors

involved in ESP construction projects. It seeks to investigate the factors influencing effectiveness in

implementation of ESP construction projects.

Kindly answer all questions as honestly and as fully as you can.

SECTION A

Background Information

Demographic: Choose the suitable answer and tick (√) the option that is most appropriate to you.

1. Gender

Male

Female

2. Age

20 – 29 yrs

30 – 39 yrs

40 – 49 yrs

50 – 59 yrs

60 yrs & above

3. Highest education qualification

Certificate

Diploma

Degree

Masters

PhD

Other (please specify) _____________________

SECTION B

PART B: Construction designs changes

Q4. Were there changes in construction designs in the ESP construction projects at implementation
stage?

Yes No

Q5. What were the reasons for changes in construction designs?

Request by Client

Delay in completion of final designs

Changes in funding levels

Changes in scope of the works

Defects in designs

Q6. In your opinion do you think the changes in construction designs affected effectiveness of

project

implementation?

Yes No

Q7. Did the changes in construction designs affect the original project completion period?

Yes No

Q8. Did the changes in construction designs result in variations in final project costs?

Yes No

Q9. Kindly rate the extent to which changes in construction designs affect the effectiveness of

construction project implementation

Major Effect = 5; Average Effect = 4; Small Effect = 3; No Effect = 2; Not Sure = 1

Construction design changes

Delay in Project commencement

Project costs variations/overruns

Project completion delay

Project quality control

PART TWO: Contractors Selection Process

Q10. Have you been involved in the tendering process for procurement of Contractors for

execution of construction projects?

Yes No

Q11. Who undertakes Tender Evaluation for Construction Projects?

Client

Consultants

Consultants and Client

Q12. In your view are tenders evaluated objectively as per the provided criteria for construction
projects and eventual contractor selection?

Yes No

Q13. Kindly rate the extent to which the following factors contribute to the selection of a contractor

to undertake construction project

Major factor = 5; Average factor = 4; Minor factor = 3; Not a factor = 2; Not Sure = 1

Contractors selection process

Contractor’s Financial Capacity/standing

Technical Capacity

Contractor’s Bid/ Lowest Bidder

Past Experience – Size and Type of Projects

Past relationship with clients/ contractors

Management Resource- formal and informal
Training

PART THREE: Project Funding levels

Q14. Do you think Project funding level is a critical factor in effective construction project
implementation?

Yes No

Q15. Describe the magnitude/extent of Project funding levels in the construction projects you have

been involved in:-

Sufficient Funds

Intermittent Funding

Funding in Phases

Insufficient funding

Q16. To what extent would you rate the following factors’ impact on

project implementation?

Very Great = 5; Great = 4; Minor = 3; No Effect = 2; Not sure = 1

Project Funding Levels

Sufficiency in funding

Absorption of allocated funds by stakeholders

Contractor financial capacity

Late payments contractors

Irregular funds disbursements

PART FOUR: Project Cost Control

Q17. Is project cost estimates prepared in respect of construction projects before commencement?

Yes No

Q18. Who prepares estimates of construction project?

Client

Consultant (QS/Engineer)

Contractor

Q19. In your view are construction project costs accurately and professionally prepared?

Yes No

Q20. Are project budgets prepared in respect of construction projects?

Yes No

Q21. How do you rate the level of adherence to project budgets during construction project

implementation?

Very High

High

Average

None

Not sure

Q22. Is project cost control practiced during project implementation?

Yes No

Q23. To what extent do the following factors of project cost control impact on effectiveness in

project implementation?

Very Great = 5; Great = 4; Minor = 3; No Effect = 2; Not sure = 1

Project Cost Control mechanisms

Project estimates

Project budgeting

Cost variances/financial appraisals

PART FIVE: Project Scheduling

Q24. Is Project duration estimation done in respect of construction projects?

Yes No

Q25. What are the techniques and tools employed in project scheduling for construction projects?

Narrative scheduling

Linear scheduling method

Gantt Charts/Bar charts

Critical Path Analysis

Program Evaluation and Review Techniques

Q26. How realistic is the estimation of the project duration

Very Realistic

Realistic

Average

Unrealistic

Very unrealistic

Q27. Kindly rate the extent to which project scheduling influence effectiveness in implementation

of construction projects

Very High = 5; High = 4; Minor = 3; No Effect = 2; Not sure = 1

Very High

High

Minor

No effect

Not sure

Q28. Kindly rate the influence of the following aspects on effectiveness in project implementation

Very Great = 5; Great = 4; Minor = 3; No Effect = 2; Not sure = 1

Aspects

Changes in Construction designs

Contractor Selection process

Project Funding Levels

Project Cost Control

Project Scheduling

Thank you for your cooperation.

APPENDIX 111
KREJCIE AND MORGAN SAMPLE SIZE TABLE:

TABLE FOR DETERMINING SAMPLE SIZE FROM A GIVEN POPULATION

N S N S N S N S N S

10 100 80 280 162 800 260 2800 338

14 110 86 290 165 850 265 3000 341

19 120 92 300 169 900 269 3500 246

24 130 97 320 175 950 274 4000 351

28 140 103 340 181 1000 278 4500 351

32 150 108 360 186 1100 285 5000 357

36 160 113 380 191 1200 291 6000 361

40 180 118 400 196 1300 297 7000 364

44 190 123 420 201 1400 302 8000 367

48 200 127 440 205 1500 306 9000 368

52 210 132 460 210 1600 310 10000 373

56 220 136 480 214 1700 313 15000 375

59 230 140 500 217 1800 317 20000 377

63 240 144 550 225 1900 320 30000 379

66 250 148 600 234 2000 322 40000 380

70 260 152 650 242 2200 327 50000 381

73 270 155 700 248 2400 331 75000 382

76 270 159 750 256 2600 335 100000 384

Note: “N” is population size “S” is sample size

Krejcie, R. and Morgan, D.W., (1970). Determining Sample size for Research Activities”,
Educational and Psychological Measurement.

Towards a sustainable use of natural resources

Stichting Natuur en Milieu, January 2001
H.Muilerman, H.Blonk.

Contents

1 Aim of the report

2 Depletion of natural resources

3 Sustainability of natural resource use

3.1 Environmental impacts of natural resource use

3.2 Ecological limits

3.3 Social and economic sustainability: fair shares

3.4 The challenge facing the Western world

4 Indicators of the pressures on reserves of natural resources

4.1 Type of indicators

4.2 Consumption indicators for the Western world – the Netherlands as example

5 Trends in natural resource use – the Netherlands as example

6 Reduction targets and strategies

7 Policy requirements

8 References

1 Aim of the report

The aim of this report is to demonstrate the need to reduce the consumption of natural
resources (environmental impacts) in the economy and provide the initial impetus for a
new policy to keep the use of natural resources within sustainable limits. (By ‘natural
resources’ we mean the global reserves of natural resources and raw materials by used
human beings.) Reduction of the use of natural resources in production and consumption is
often referred to as ‘dematerialization’.

2 Depletion of natural resources

Three kinds of reserves of natural resources can be identified (Reijnders 1999, Chapman
1983): continuous resources such as sunlight and wind, the use of which does not lead to a
reduction in their size; renewable resources, such as wood and crops that can be harvested
– but not faster than their rate of replenishment; and non-renewable resources such as fossil
fuels and minerals. The last are created by very slow geological processes, so slow in
human terms that their use diminishes the available stocks. Resources such as clean water,
fertile soils and biodiversity, given the time required for their recovery, can also be
considered to be non-renewable.

The Club of Rome first drew attention to the depletion of resources at the beginning of the
1970s. At that time the emphasis was on the depletion of fossil and mineral resources. It
was assumed that various important natural resources such as oil and various metal ores
would be exhausted within a few decades. In fact, this turned out not to be true.
Discoveries of new deposits, technological advances and falling energy prices have made
possible the recovery of lower grade ores, and the estimated remaining lifetimes of some
resources have been considerably extended.

But this is no reason for complacency. Sooner or later, at the current rate of consumption,
the reserves of certain resources will be exhausted. This may be a long way off for a
number of fossil fuels and mineral ores, but other resources such as biodiversity and fertile
soils are being used up so quickly there is a danger that critical thresholds will be crossed.

The drain on biotic resources is particularly alarming; biodiversity and fertile soils are
being rapidly used up. Research by WWF indicates that the ‘health’ of the world
ecosystem, based on measurements of the loss of forest area and freshwater and marine
animal species, has declined by 30% in 25 years (WWF 1998). Half the natural forest
cover worldwide has already disappeared, 13% in the last 30 years. Europe only has 1% of
its original forest cover left. And there is no sign of this attack on biodiversity diminishing.

Decline Expected trend
Health of the world ecosystem

§ Area of natural forest
§ Freshwater ecosystem index
§ Marine ecosystem index

-30% in the last 25 years

§ -13% in the last 30 years
§ -50% in the last 25 years
§ -40% in the last 25 years

Continuing decline

More rapid reduction

Fertile soils

§ Africa
§ Asia
§ Latin America

-25% in the last 50 years

§ -30%
§ -27%
§ -18%

Same or greater reduction

Table 1: Some trends in the depletion of natural resources WWR, 1999, Anonymous 1999)

Poverty is an important underlying cause of further deforestation, of which about two-
thirds is carried out by small farmers clearing land for cultivation and to obtain wood fo

fuel. Commercial logging for timber is responsible for most of the rest. The pressure on the
remaining forests is increasing as the numbers of people with a low income and worldwide
demand for commercial timber products grow. The demand for food, and therefore for
agricultural land, will also rise sharply as the world’s population rises and people’s diets
contain more protein (Matthews 1999). Almost all the best agricultural land is already
cultivated and so less suitable land is being brought into cultivation, leading to more soil
erosion and loss of biodiversity.

Fertile soil is the basis for agricultural production. In the last 50 years 25% of all fertile
soils have been lost and/or degraded, and intensive efforts will be needed to prevent this
process speeding up. The poorer countries are worst affected, and major problems are
forecast in a number of important food producing areas in third world countries (Pinstrup-
Andersen 1999). Soils recover naturally at an extremely slow rate and the costs of
restoration are so high they are, in effect, unaffordable for these countries.

The growth in biofuels is also increasing the pressure on the reserves of suitable
agricultural land. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in
the Netherlands has calculated that if a large-scale conversion to biofuels – stimulated by
greenhouse gas policies and the reduced availability of fossil fuels – implies that 20–25%
of all suitable agricultural land will be needed for biofuel crops by 2050 (RIVM 2000a). It
is hardly conceivable that this could happen given the considerable rise in the demand for
land for the production of food.

The worldwide demand for fossil and mineral resources also continues to grow. Global
policies to reduce greenhouse gases may inhibit growth in the use of fossil fuels, but there
is little sign of this (RIVM 2000a). Demand for a number of mineral ores may even be
rising faster than for fossil fuels, and the demand for metals is forecast to double over the
next 50 years. The use of agricultural fertilizers (N, P, K) is rising even faster. Primary
resource use may be checked by closing cycles, but increases in the percentages of
materials recycled are nowhere near high enough to compensate for the growth in demand.

The end result is that the availability of many reserves is declining as the world population
grows and demand for raw materials rises.

3 Sustainability of natural resource use

The exhaustion of reserves is in large part due to the use of raw materials. Of course, there
are other causes; land, for example, is also needed for housing and infrastructure. But the
use of raw materials largely determines the rate of consumption of natural resources. The
extraction and use of natural resources are responsible for environmental problems all over
the world, and the social and economic impacts of their use cannot always be justified. We
now take a closer look at these three aspects of natural resource use.

3.1 Environmental impacts of natural resource use

The use of natural resources can lead to a variety of environmental impacts:

• Direct impacts of extraction, for example the impacts on nature and the landscape of
opencast mining.

• Disruption of materials cycles by the introduction of previously unavailable matter into
the biosphere (such as carbon, phosphate and heavy metals), or major movements of
materials through the biosphere (e.g. the nutrients N and P), or the loss of natural areas
(loss of fixed C, N and P as a result of deforestation and erosion).

Various other environmental impacts are also associated with the use of natural resources,
such as pesticides used in the production of food and acidification caused by the
combustion of fossil fuels.

The following table gives an indication of the type of environmental impacts resulting
from the use of a number of important groups of natural resources, throughout the whole
chain from extraction to disposal.

Direct impacts of extraction
and distribution

Disturbance to material
cycles

Other relevant
environmental impacts

Use of fossil fuels Large local/regional impacts
on the landscape and
ecotoxicological pollution

Carbon cycle is greatly
enlarged (greenhouse effect)
Metal fluxes are increased
(metals are present as
contaminants)
Sulphur cycle is enlarged

Greatest cause of
acidification, important
source of acidifying
compounds in Western
countries
Calamities during extraction
and distribution with large
impacts on nature

Use of mineral reserves Large local/regional impacts
on the landscape and
ecotoxicological pollution

The use on non-ferrous
metal in particular (e.g.
copper, zinc, lead and
cadmium) is responsible for
a steep rise in metal fluxes

Disasters during extraction
and distribution with large
impacts on nature.

Use of wood fibres as fuel
and material (forestry)

Clearance, loss of forest
area and loss of biodiversity
in plantations and secondary
forest, soil erosion

Carbon storage function
reduced

Use of agricultural products:
food, material and fuel

Clearance and loss of forest
area, loss of soil,
consumption of groundwater
reserves

Disruption of nutrient cycles,
reduced carbon storage
function
Other greenhouse gas
cycles affected
Eutrophication and
acidification due to use of
nutrients or exhaustion due
to use of nutrients

Ecotoxicological impacts of
pesticide use

Fisheries Overexploitation and
shrinkage of fish stocks, loss
of biodiversity

Disruption of nutrient cycles

Use of water Falling water tables,
salination, exhaustion of
groundwater reserves,
damage to ecosystems

Table 2: Overview of environmental impacts from the use of natural resources

The extraction of fossil fuels and minerals not only causes large local environmental
impacts, but is also associated with regular disasters that have far-reaching impacts.
Examples are the recent disasters in Spain (1998) and Romania/Hungary (1999) and the oil
spills from Russian oilfields (2000). Accidents continue to occur during the transport and
distribution of oil and these can have severe impacts on the marine environment.

The use of natural resources is the most important human activity in terms of global
environmental effects. Table 3 indicates the relative significance of the use of different
types of natural resources in terms of environmental impacts.

Land use Adverse effects on
biodiversity from land
use

Greenhouse effect
(incl. fuel
consumption)

Ecotoxicological
impacts

Use of fossil
resources < 1% * ca. 70% ***

Use of minerals
< 1% * 0 (ca. 10%) ***

Use of wood fibre as
fuel and material
(forestry)

approx. 32% *** approx. 5% (8%) *

Use of agricultural
products: food,
materials and fuel

approx. 38% **** approx. 25% (42%) ***

Fisheries NA *** (< 1%) Use of water ? ** (< 1%) *

Ecotoxicological impacts relate here to toxic and hazardous substances, acidification and eutrophication.

The greenhouse effect shown in brackets includes the combustion of fossil fuels. About half the total combustion of fossil
fuels, which accounts for about 70% of the total greenhouse effect, is for the direct use of energy. The other half is used in
the production of foods and other products.

* = relatively limited contribution on a global scale; ** moderate contribution globally; *** large contribution globally; ****
very large contribution globally

Table 3: Overview of the significance of environmental impacts caused by the use of
natural resources
Sources: IPPC 1996, WRI, 2000, FAO 2000.

The shaded boxes in Table 3 show the environmental impacts caused largely by use of the
indicated resources.

The production of agricultural raw materials has the greatest environmental impact
worldwide. A great deal of land is needed for agriculture but fertility is diminishing. Large
areas of soils are being lost, mineral use is not in balance with the needs of the crops and
the use of pesticides causes ecological impacts and health effects (in farmers).

3.2 Ecological limits

The environmental impacts of using reserves of natural resources are so great that various
ecological limits are easily exceeded.

Greenhouse effect
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) the heightened
greenhouse effect must be reduced by 50–70% from 1990 levels to keep the effects of
climate change within manageable proportions (Watson et al. 2000, RIVM, 2000A).
Signing the 1997 Kyoto protocol was the first step for the industrial countries. But so far
little attempt has been made to achieve a reduction of 50%.1

1 This reduction target agrees well with the ecological footprint approach, which attempts to provide a picture
of the use of global biological productive capacity. At the moment this is about 30 to 50% higher than that

Biodiversity
At the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ held in Rio de Janeiro (UNCED) it was agreed that current
levels of biodiversity worldwide must be preserved as far as possible. Each country is
responsible for the conservation of its own biodiversity. Nevertheless, the loss of
biodiversity is continuing undiminished, despite a small number of successes (WWF 1998,
RIVM, 2000b).

Various attempts have been made to estimate how large an area of the world’s land area
should be left undisturbed to enable biodiversity to be maintained at present levels (de
Vries 1994). These estimates lie around the 20% mark. At present about 30% of the world
can be considered to be in an undisturbed state. This is not a reassuring figure, though,
because the quality of the areas concerned is of great importance for the conservation of
biodiversity. The increasing demand for land for agriculture, forestry and buildings will
lead to the loss of areas of great value for biodiversity. We cannot conclude, therefore, that
there is room for further uncontrolled exploitation of natural areas.

3.3 Social and economic sustainability: fair shares

Industrialized countries make a much greater claim on raw materials than developing
countries. About 20% of the world’s population lives in rich countries and uses on average
about 50% of the world’s various reserves. Consumption of most resources is increasing
both in rich and poor countries, but faster in poor countries. For example, during the last

years fossil fuel consumption in China, with a fifth of the world’s population, has more
than doubled. Meat consumption in China has also doubled in the last 10 years; in 1996 it
stood at 41 kg per person, a little more than half the figure for Europe and a third of the
amount consumed in the US.

Production
in poor
countries

Use in poor
countries

Growth factor at
OECD levels of use
throughout the
whole world

Growth according to forecasts
for total world demand over
the next 50 years

Fossil resources

§ coal, oil and gas
§ limestone

70%

52%
69%

2.5

1.7 to 2.9 with declining
availability of oil and natural
gas (RIVM 2000a)

Minerals

§ ferrous
§ aluminium
§ copper
§ N, P, K nutrients
§ Cars

65%
60%
65%

?
PM

40%
30%
30%
55%

15%

4.8
5.6
5.6
3.6
6.8

1.5 to 4 with declining quality
of ores and poor accessibility
(Vuuren 1999, Matthews
1999)

Wood fibre as fuel and material

§ Firewood
§ raw materials for industry

90%
40%

67%

90%
33%

2.4

NA
6.8

1.6 to 2.6 assuming growth of
1 to 2% per year with
declining area of forest cover
worldwide and halving of
tropical forests (Matthews

produced naturally by the earth (Wackernagel et al. 2000), made possible by the use of fossil resources. The
annual use of carbon is greater than the earth can fix each year in the form of organic matter. If we decide
that biological productivity may not be higher than that provided naturally by the earth, then the use of fossil
fuels will have to be reduced by about 75%. This assumes that it will be much more difficult to cut back on
agriculture, forestry and housing.

1999)
Agricultural products: food,
materials and fuels

§ grains
§ meat

74%
60%

2.1
3.2

1.5 in the next 25 years with a
declining availability of fertile
soils

Table 4: Forecast growth of natural resource use

The third column in Table 4 shows the growth that would take place if the use of resources
was divided equally, based on a population of 9 billion in 2050 and present levels of
consumption in the rich countries (average of OECD countries).

Growth in the consumption of resources in poor countries is an inescapable consequence of
social and economic development, and is progressing on a large scale in a number of
countries. However, it is highly questionable whether growing prosperity in poor countries
can be allowed to be accompanied by a per capita consumption of resources comparable
with that of the rich countries now. If in 2050 the population of the world consumes natural
resources at the levels now enjoyed by the ‘rich countries’ of the world, it would consume
2 to 7 times the present amount of natural resources. This would multiply current
environmental problems by 2 to 7 times as well, while the goal is an absolute reduction of
environmental impacts. This is illustrated in Figure 1 for the greenhouse effect.

Figure 1: The effect of an equal distribution of resource use on the growth in CO2
emissions
CO2 emissions: growth factor 3.8; desired 0.5
Prognosis for the next 50 years 1.7–2.

Current distribution of resource use
Equal distribution of resource use

This presents us with a big challenge: to raise the efficiency of resource use, in some cases
by a factor 10 (90% reduction), and achieving a comparable reduction in environmental
impacts. For the use of fossil fuels, for example, efficiency needs to be increased by a
factor of 7.6 (3.8/0.5).

CO2-emissie: groeifactor 3,8; gewenst 0,5
prognose komende 50 jaar 1,7 – 2,9

0%
100%
200%
300%
400%
500%

Huidige verdeling Gelijke verdeling

rijk arm

The tasks facing the industrialized and the developing countries are different, though. The
industrialized countries will indeed have to find ways of considerably reducing their use of
raw materials and natural resources per head of the population. This will require great
changes in the production and consumption of resources. For developing countries, the task
is to generate growth in prosperity using efficient technologies, which are now hard for
them to obtain.

Many natural resources processed or consumed in the rich countries are extracted and
produced in poor countries, generally because of natural circumstances, such as climate
and the presence of mineral ores, and because wages are low. Under prevailing power
structures in these countries the local population usually comes off worst (Spapens 1998).
Pay and working conditions in mines are generally bad, and mining activities often cause
sweeping changes in the environment of the local population. Wages and working
conditions also tend to be poor on plantations owned by multinationals, where many food
crops, such as banana, tea and coffee, are grown.

The current skewed distribution of production and consumption of natural resources results
in resources being taken from poor countries and added to the reserves in the economies of
rich countries. This will enable the rich countries to cope with a future scarcity of primary
resources much better than their poor cousins. For example, rich countries have large
stocks of recoverable metals in products and waste – which makes the high demand for
primary metals from the rich countries highly suspicious.

3.4 The challenge facing the Western world

The Western world faces two challenges concerning the use of natural resources. First, that
of achieving a fair distribution of resource use. Achieving this will require a literal
‘dematerialization’ of consumption. About 70% of the greenhouse effect is caused by the
use of fossil resources. Of this 70%, more than half is used in the industrial production of
raw materials, components and products. The potential for reducing the greenhouse effect
by making changes to the energy system is limited by the demand for materials efficiency
in the production of goods. To achieve a 50–75% reduction in the emission of greenhouse
gases will be very difficult without large increases in efficiency of the materials system
(and certainly not cost-effective). The basic position of Dutch policy on the greenhouse
effect is that these problems must not be transferred to biodiversity and food production.
Dematerialization of the use of foodstuffs and wood will help free up land for the biofuel
crops and carbon storage needed to combat global warming This, by the way, must not
compete for land with the growing demand in developing countries for good food and
timber.

Contribution to global
warming

Main reduction measures

Agriculture 20% Control of emissions from agriculture (N2O and CH4)
Land use changes 14% Resist conversion to agriculture and forestry
Food production 16% Increase greenhouse gas efficiency of the energy system,

dematerialization by preventing waste, substitution, etc.,
resulting in a lower demand in agricultural production

Other products 20% Increasing greenhouse gas efficiency of the energy system,
dematerialization by system substitution, prevention and
reuse

Direct use of energy by
consumers

30% Increase greenhouse gas efficiency, reduce demand from
consumers by system substitution and more efficient use

Table 5: Contributions to global warming (IPPC 1996, Blonk 1992, Spapens 1998, Hekert
2000)

Summing up, to reduce the greenhouse effect by a factor of 4 to 10 (75 to 90%) from 1990
levels, as required by policy and for a fair distribution of emission quota, consumption
must be dematerialized. If we assume that half the reduction of the greenhouse effect from
the materials system can be achieved by increasing energy efficiency, the other half will
have to be achieved by increasing the efficiency of the use of the materials themselves.
This means that the demand for primary resources other than fossil resources will have to
be reduced by a factor of 2 to 4 (50 to 75%) from 1990 levels. At the same time this will
reduce the land take by the same proportion, assuming the same levels of productivity.
This extra land can be put to good use for combating global warming and meeting the
rising demand for food and timber products, reducing the pressure to bring more virgin
land into production. The demand for primary resources from agriculture and forestry must
be reduced by a factor of 2 to 4 as well. Given the large contribution to total land use made
by these sectors, this is more significant than for minerals.

The second challenge facing the Western world is to produce raw materials within
acceptable local environmental and social conditions, and in doing so contribute to meeting
global sustainability targets. For the extraction of minerals and fossil resources this means
that local environmental impacts must be minimized and international conventions, for
example on working conditions and child labour, must be respected. Food and timber
production must take global sustainability targets into account, such as reductions in global
warming and the prevention of clear felling, soil erosion and biodiversity loss.

Challenge facing the
Western world
Reduction in use from
1990 levels

Environmental impact targets
for production

Social and economic targets for
production

Use of fossil
resources

Factor 4–10

Limit local environmental
impacts

Production within acceptable
social and economic conditions

Use of minerals Factor 2–4 in relation
to greenhouse effect

Limit local environmental
impacts
Production within acceptable
social and economic conditions

Use of wood fibres as
fuel and material
(forestry)

Factor 2–4 in relation
to greenhouse effect

No use of timber for primary
forests, conservation of
biodiversity, sustainable
forest management

Production within acceptable
social and economic conditions
Use of agricultural
products: food,
materials and fuel
Factor 2–4 in relation
to greenhouse effect

No new agricultural land,
integrated agriculture,
organic agriculture

Production within acceptable
social and economic conditions

Table 6: Challenge to the Western world in relation to dematerialization and natural
resource use

To help third world countries to achieve sustainable production the Western world should
start by reassessing its imports from these countries. Radical changes are needed in the
market structure. At present most natural resources are bought on world markets without
full knowledge of their origin, let alone how the raw materials are produced. In future, each
supplier of raw materials should be able to justify their production methods.

10
4 Indicators of the pressures on reserves of natural resources
4.1 Type of indicators

There are various indicators that can be used to monitor the use of physical resources and
materials. First, of all, there are indicators that represent all the material streams in society,
aggregated in one figure. An example is the TMR, the Total Material Requirement
(Adriaanse 1997), which aggregates the use of resources by society into one score by
adding up all the weights of resources used. This approach has two important
disadvantages:

1 The total score is heavily influenced by the large resource streams and movements
of these effectively determine the score, while there is no reason to suppose that
these streams are in fact the determining factors in the total pressure on natural
resources. The use of sand has a completely different impact than the use of copper,
for example. An environmental impact score is needed to indicate this.

2 The total score is a sum of natural resources, the pressure on a number of reserves
and movements of resources. Figures as different as the use of potatoes and the
amount of eroded soil are all added up together. This combination of different units
is highly confusing.

A theoretically more satisfactory approach is to add up all the environmental impacts
caused by the various resource streams. However, this places high demands on the method
and procedure for aggregating environmental impacts and requires much data. The attempt
by Pré (2000) to do this using the LCA method must therefore be viewed as an exploratory
exercise. The LCA method used is not suitable for expressing the most important
environmental impacts caused by the use of resources, such as loss of biodiversity and the
environmental impacts of agriculture. Moreover, the data on the extraction and production
of imported raw materials used in Pré study are very sketchy.2

Another approach is to use ‘key resources’. Instead of looking at the actual extraction of
specific resources such as ores and minerals, this method focuses on the use of reserves of
a few specific resources that are ultimately essential for the functioning of the earth and
human society. These key resources are energy, the use of land and biodiversity. The
ecological footprint method is based on the same thinking. It expresses everything as a
(weighted) land area (the ‘footprint’) and has the advantage of allowing comparisons, for
example between the use of sand and copper, via the claims made on a few key resources.
The disadvantage is that it involves long and difficult calculations and considerable
uncertainty. And the definition of ‘key resources’ is itself a subject for debate. How can the
consumption of energy be defined? And how can the use of biodiversity be calculated (see
for example Blonk 1997)?

A more practical approach is to identify the resources streams that make up a substantial
part of all resources used and the environmental impacts caused by the use of resources.

2 The Pré study does provide insight into some environmental themes and a number of interesting
conclusions are drawn. One third of the pressure on the environment exerted by consumption in the
Netherlands takes place abroad. The study also shows that the Netherlands is a recipient of environmental
pressures exerted by consumption in the EU region (particularly Germany) because of the country’s
geographical situation and economic structure.

The WWF takes this approach with its six indicators for consumption (WWF 1998): grain
consumption, marine fish consumption, timber consumption, consumption of ‘drinking’
water, and CO2 emissions. This report draws partly on the issues selected by WWF.

4.2 Consumption indicators for the Western world – the Netherlands as example

Production and consumption activities require different indicators of resource use.
Consumption indicators are designed to reflect developments in consumer demand. The
final use of resources, such as land, fossil fuels and biodiversity, and other environmental
impacts can be obtained by combining these indicators with data on the environmental
efficiency of production (such as energy consumption and emissions from production
processes, materials reuse and losses from the production chain). Production indicators
reflect production activities within a country and are more suitable for monitoring the
environmental efficiency of specific production activities.

The OECD (1999) has developed a number of indicators for monitoring changes in the
sustainability of consumption. This list of indicators, along with the WWF methodology, is
used in this report.

The indicators shown in Table 7 provide a good impression of the use of resources by the
Dutch population.

Contribution to environmental impacts from consumption

Direct indicators

Land use Damage to

biodiversity
Greenhouse
effect

Ecotoxicological impacts

Fossil fuels
– total fossil fuels
– direct energy consumption for passenger transport
– direct domestic energy consumption
– indirect energy use by consumers

<1% <1% 80% 20% 20% 40%

Approx. 65% of acidification

Wood
– total wood
– consumption of non-certified tropical hardwoods

56% 15%
15%

10%

Food
– total food
– meat consumption
– consumption of dairy products
– consumption of vegetable oils

36%
13%
8%

10%

75%
60%

15%

30% Approx. 90% eutrophication
and pesticides

Metals
– use of steel
– use of aluminium
– use of zinc
– use of copper

<1% 5% Heavy metal emissions and accumulation

Indirect indicators Indicates:
– household waste
– building and demolition waste

Use of articles with a short life
Loss of materials due to changes in the housing stock

Table 7: Indicators for Dutch consumption and contribution to environmental impacts
(Vringer 2000, Blonk 1992, Ros 2000, De Vries 1994, Blonk 1992)

Important criteria for the choice of indicators are:
• Contribution to the environmental impacts of Dutch consumption
• Provides insight into the losses (‘leaks’) from the production–consumption chain
• Availability of data

Direct indicators

The material categories – fossil fuels, firewood, food – make a very high contribution to
environmental impacts in the Netherlands. At the moment, Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
and RIVM monitor these directly in only a limited way. With a few calculations, good
consumption figures can be derived from the statistics (Vringer 2000, Koster, 2000,
Kramer 2000). The use of metals is a good indicator of losses from consumption, derived
from net primary use after consumption (Blonk 1992, Spapens 1998). The use of zinc and
copper leads to an increase in the use and emissions of cadmium because this is a by-
product of their extraction.

Indirect indicators

Both the amount of household waste and residual building and demolition waste are
monitored. Trends in the amount of household waste (or packaging waste) produced says
much about changes in the use of products with a short life, and the composition of
household waste also provides an insight into the use of metals. The amount of residual
building and demolition waste is a global indicator of the materials efficiency of changes in
the housing stock.

5 Trends in natural resource use – the Netherlands as example

To gain an impression of the changes and environmental impacts of resource use in the
Netherlands we must first identify three trends:

• Volume changes in the consumption of goods in the Netherlands
• Environmental efficiency of Dutch production
• Environmental efficiency of Dutch imports and other sustainability aspects

Volume changes

During the last 10 years the consumption of most natural resources has risen (Figure 2)

Figure 2: Changes in a number of consumption indicators of resource use (RIVM 2000a,
Spapens 1998, Vringer 2000)
Fossil fuels
direct energy consumption for passenger transport
domestic energy consumption
indirect energy consumption
meat
dairy products
wood
metal
household waste
residual building and demolition waste

Only the material efficiency of the processing of building and demolition wastes has
improved significantly. All other consumption indicators have risen. The use of fossil fuels
for consumption – for which the highest reduction targets, a factor of 4–10, have been set –
has been rising for years. The proportion of energy used indirectly in the production of
food and goods and the treatment of household wastes is gradually becoming more

Consumption of natural resources in the Netherlands

0%
20%
40%
60%
80%

100%
120%
140%
160%

fossiele brandstof

energie pers.vervoer

energie in huis

energie indirect

vlees
zuivel

hout
metaal

afgedankt HH afval

resterend B&S afval

1985/1988 1995/1998

significant in the overall picture (Figure 3). Dematerialization will play an important role
in reducing this direct and indirect consumption of energy.

Figure 3: Growth in direct and indirect energy use by households (Vringer 2000)

Environmental efficiency of production in the Netherlands
Some progress has been made in improving the environmental efficiency of material
production and use in the Netherlands. Important gains have been made in the area of
ecotoxicological impact through reductions in the emissions of acidic substances from fuel
combustion and emissions of metals and other toxic substances. In a number of areas
results have been disappointing. Emissions of CO2 per unit of energy are hardly falling at
all; and while Dutch agriculture is getting cleaner, emissions of pesticides and nutrients are
falling very slowly.

Environmental efficiency of production abroad
The demand for foreign resources for Dutch consumption has risen, although some
progress has been made and resource use is rising less rapidly than demand. The efficiency
of converting feed into meat has risen and the reuse of certain materials has increased.
Another positive development is the demand from retail organizations to be informed of
the conditions under which food crops are produced. In 2001 European producers will be
obliged to provide this information, launching a process that has potential to strengthen the
role of environmental and social aspects in production and consumption.

In general, though, the trends are still the wrong way, reflecting continuing growth in
consumption. The improvements in environmental efficiency per unit of production are
mainly being made within the Netherlands. The environmental efficiency and the social
and economic conditions of foreign production for consumption in the Netherlands – of
great significance for timber, meat and metals production – have hardly improved at all.

6 Reduction targets and strategies

Growth in direct and indirect energy use by households

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

19
48

19
51

19
54

19
57

19
60

19
63

19
66

19
69

19
72

19
75

19
78

19
81

19
84

19
87

19
90

19
93

19
96

G
J/

p
er

so
n

p
er

y
ea

Direct totaal

The challenge facing the Western world is to cut fossil fuel consumption by a factor of 4 to
10 and reduce the greenhouse effect, land take and consumption of other resources by a
factor of 2 to 4. This challenge goes much further than the automatic process of improving
material and energy efficiency in the production of materials and products. Fundamental
changes are needed, such as

• Bringing materials use in line with functional use
• Limiting wastage of materials and energy in production and consumption chains
• Making better use of resources in the economy (recycling and cascading)
• Developing new products and services
• Using alternative raw materials and resources

Half of the consumer use of fossil fuels is for passenger transport and domestic activities.
Current technologies allow great savings to be made here. ‘Zero-energy’ houses are a
possibility, in which gas consumption is a tenth to a twentieth of the amount used in
existing homes. It is also possible using current technologies to reduce the fuel
consumption of cars by a factor of 4 (Weiszacker 1997). The introduction of these
technologies is progressing more slowly than hoped, partly because existing products have
a long life and so replacing and adapting them will take a long time.

The indirect use of fossil fuels for the production and waste treatment of products accounts
for about half of the total use of fossil fuels by consumers. Food consumption takes up
almost half of this. Food is lost throughout the whole chain (UNEP, RIVM), not only from
spoilage during the various production phases and consumption, but also because of
wasteful diets with too much protein and calorific content and an unnecessarily high
proportion of meat. Reduction in the use of fossil fuels in food production by a factor of 4
seems to be technically feasible (Carlston 1998). The same reduction in energy
consumption (to a quarter) is also the target for wood products and metals. To achieve this,
considerably more material will have to be recycled and some processes will have to be
replaced by others.

Technical feasibility is probably not the biggest problem. Much more important in the long
run is how to make these changes in a society with growing levels of consumption and a
strong international orientation.

7 Policy requirements

SNM believes it is high time we made a start with reducing our consumption of natural
resources. We need to take direct action in response to the alarming signs of the damage
being done to the biosphere. The rich and technologically advanced countries have a
responsibility for global problems, and the countries of the European Union should take
lead by example. A policy to substantially reduce resource use should include a number of
elements.

• Communication and awareness raising
The threats to the biosphere do not get the attention they deserve from companies or
consumers. The Government should prepare a policy document setting out a course of
action, backed up by a clear analysis. This SNM report is intended to start the ball rolling.

We argue that considerable changes are needed in Dutch consumption patterns and in the
production of imported raw materials. A communication strategy aimed at companies and
consumers should be drawn up and implemented.

• Objectives
The government should formulate indicative long-term and short-term objectives for
various resources and reserves (space) for reducing the environmental impact of
consumption. The European Union must translate the challenge facing the Western world –
the literal dematerialization of material and resource use and achieving sustainable
production of raw materials – into definable objectives. Ensuring, of course, that
production respects the limits imposed by the environment.

Reduction targets for the Netherlands (from
1990 levels)

Reduction of environmental impacts from
production

Use of fossil resources Factor 4–10 Limit local environmental impacts
Use of mineral resources Factor 2-4 for greenhouse effect Limit local environmental impacts
Use of wood fibres as fuel
and material (forestry)

Factor 2-4 for greenhouse effect and land
take

No use of timber from primary forest,
conservation of biodiversity

Use of agricultural products:
food, material and fuel

Factor 2-4 for greenhouse effect and land
take

No new agricultural land; integrated agriculture,
organic agriculture

Table 8: Goals for reducing resource use

These targets will have to be further specified for the most important resource streams.
SNM proposes that specific targets for the 16 ‘indicator’ resource streams shown in Table
5 are derived and adopted as policy targets.

• Strategy and action plan
SNM argues for making ‘products’ the central target of policies for reducing resource use.
An approach based on the production chain can ensure that all companies will be involved
in reducing the use of resources. Products are also the most relevant point of entry for
policies aimed at consumers too.

Putting ‘products’ at the heart of the approach also places the responsibility for
implementing policies for reducing resource use with companies, at least as far as changes
to products or services are involved. To avoid a ‘rebound’ effect, government will have to
influence consumer behaviour through market mechanisms, confronting consumers with
the costs of environmental impacts via the prices they pay for products. Government
strategy should distinguish between ‘pioneer companies’, which can be stimulated to
reduce their use of resources (through market mechanisms, experiments, pilot projects,
etc.), and the rest. Regulations are needed to stir most companies into action, with
government setting product standards (e.g. via an independent ‘product bureau’) which
should eventually enable policy targets to be reached. This will take off more quickly if the
costs of the burden on the environment is reflected in the price of raw materials and
products. The same goes for other necessary legislative measures, such as environmental
liability and the right of return.

• Monitoring
Monitoring resource use at the consumption level is highly important. The data obtained
are not only needed to convince parties of the necessity of the policy and the targets, but
also to manage policy and determine whether the objectives have been achieved. SNM

proposes to start monitoring immediately using the 16 indicators in Table 7 and to publish
these each year.

8 Literature

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Washington DC: World Resources Institute.
Anonymous. 1999. Agri-food production Facts and Figures. Industry and Environment
22(2-3): 4-10. ISSN 0378-9993.
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Rotterdam: Bureau B&G
Blonk T.J., Lafleur M., Davidson M. 1997. Operationalization of depletion of abiotic
resources via key resources in LCA.
Carlsson A. 1998. Energy consumption and Emissions of greenhouse Gases in the
Lifecycle of Potatoes, Pork meat, Rice and Yellow Pea. Department of Systems Ecology,
Stockholm.
Chapman P.F., Roberts F. 1983. Metal resources and energy. Butterworths Monographs in
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De Vries S. 1994. Mijnbouw en duurzaamheid. IVEM, Groningen.
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Goedkoop M., Spriensma R., Effting S. 2000. Milieudruk van materialen (May 2000
draft). Pré, Amersfoort.
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Synthesis of Scientific-Technical Information relevant to interpreting Article 2 of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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scientific technical analysis, contribution of working group II to the second assessment
report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. ISBN 0 521 56437 9.
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from household food consumption.
Matthews E.A., Hammond A. 1999. Critical Consumption Trends and Implications.
Washington DC: World Resources Institute. ISBN 1-56973-410-0.
OECD. 1999. Working group on the state of the environment. Towards more sustainable
household consumption patterns, Indicators to measure progress. ENV/EPO(98)2/FINAL,
82545, Paris 1999.
Pinstrup Anderson P. 1999. Towards ecologically sustainable world food production.
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RIVM. 2000a. Nationale Milieuverkenning 5 2000-2030. Bilthoven: RIVM. ISBN 90 140
7189 2
RIVM. 2000b. //www.rivm.nl/milieucompendium
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251701 040.
Spapens P. (editor). 1996. Sustainable Netherlands revised. Sustainable development in a
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Spapens P. 1998. Uit balans, sociale en ecologische gevolgen van de Nederlandse
consumptie van metalen. Amsterdam: Milieudefensie.
Spapens P., Fleur M. 1999. In balans, pleidooi voor een evenwichtig grondstoffenbeleid.
Amsterdam: Milieudefensie.
Von Weiszäcker. 2000. Factor Four, doubling wealth, halving resource use.
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Van Vuuren D.P., Strengers B.J., de Vries H.J.M. 1999. Long-term perspective on world
metal use (draft). Bilthoven: RIVM.
Wackernagel M. et al. 2000. Tracking the ecological overshoot of the human economy
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Insert Surname: 1

Student’s name

Institutional Affiliation

Date

Sustainability in Mechanical Engineering (Draft)

Based on the Mechanical Engineering essay’s sustainability, that first paragraph essentially defines sustainability in relation to Mechanical Engineering. The paragraph enables the mechanical engineers to know they have a greater responsibility to develop infrastructures that can utilize the available resources without compromising the availability of the same resources to the future generation (Koch, 2020). Mechanical Engineers’ primary responsibility is to develop and select machines that are less prone to tear and wear during project implementation.

After the introduction, the essay elaborates on controversies Mechanical Engineers go through in selecting the most effective resources during project implementation. The second controversy occurs when Mechanical Engineers are selecting suitable materials or tools when implementing a project.

During project implementation, there are various required resources, including human resources and financial resources. For the Mechanical Engineers to ensure resources are effectively used, they must collaborate with project managers when developing the project charter and the project scope (Senior, Stevens & Smith, 2017). The controversies occur where the project managers are not professional engineers, and they might be reluctant to buy the ideals from the engineering department. Additionally, engineers may lack the expertise to develop the project charter; thus, they cannot give an opinion on resources.

The other controversies occur during the selection of correct materials and tools for the job. Engineers worldwide choose tools based on affordability, but on the other hand, they want quality tools that are resistant to tear and wear. Additionally, the engineers consider the quality of products in a project without ascertaining an organization’s budget. Therefore, engineers should collaborate with the project managers during the planning and implementation process. Allocation of resources should be based on finances available in an organization. However, engineers should support projects that meet standards that ensure effective use of resources and sustainability of resources to future generations (Goldie & Betts, 2014).

Work Cited

Goldie, J., & Betts, K. (2014). Sustainable futures: Linking population, resources, and the environment. CSIRO PUBLISHING.

Koch, B. (2020). Critical resources, sustainability, and future generations. The Material Basis of Energy Transitions, 141-152.

https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819534-5.00009-x

Senior, J., Stevens, J., & Smith, C. (2017). The importance of engineers in successful consenting for project developers. 13th IET International Conference on AC and DC Power Transmission (ACDC 2017).

https://doi.org/10.1049/cp.2017.0001

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