Influencing factors of subcontractors’ quality of work and flexibility in Poland and Nigeria

Authors

  • Oluwasegun Emmanuel Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9359-2804
  • Jennifer Udebunu Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland, Nigeria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7995-1866
  • Vsevolod Nikolaiev Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0014-1340

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32347/2707-501x.2023.51(1).3-24

Keywords:

Subcontractors, quality of work, flexibility, construction industry, rework

Abstract

Every stakeholder’s intention in a project is to have the best quality and minimize rework. But there are  hurdles that come up during the stages and processes of a project that can compromise the quality if not handled correctly. This study aims to identify the influencing factors that affect subcontractors’quality of work and the impact of flexibility. Construction professionals from Poland and Nigeria participated in the survey. Descriptive statistics using IBM SPSS software version 27 was used to analyse the data.

The results obtained shows that there are several variables influencing subcontractors’ quality of work, the overall ability of the subcontractor to ensure that the project meets the basic function of the end user's needs and intents, the degree to which the construction operations meet the design standards and specifications, strict adherence to quality assurance plan on general performance, subcontractor's ability to complete the contract on the completion date and the ability of the subcontractor to carry out the construction work with little rework, were identified as the major factors that affect the quality of work. Further analysis shows that the impact of flexibility on the subcontractors’ quality of work could increase the smooth operation of the construction processes, increase compliance with the quality specifications, helps in effective decision making and effective functioning, limit non-conformities between planning and realization of work, and reduction in rework errors. The main contractors sometimes substitute or chnage the subcontractors. This study identify poor quality of work, failure to meet the deadline, use of inappropriate material and non-conforming to quality standards as some of the reasons for this change.

References

Albino, V., and Garavelli, A.C., (1998). “A neural network application to subcontractor rating in construction firms,” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 16, pp. 9–14.

Amram, M., Kulatlaka, N., (1999). Real Options: Managing Strategic Investment in an Uncertain World, Financial Management Association Survey and Synthesis Series, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1999.

Awwad, R., El-Souki, O. and Jabbour, M. (2016). Construction safety practices and challenges in a Middle Eastern developing country. Safety Science, Vol. 83, pp. 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.10.016.

Blakstad, S. H., (2001). A Strategic Approach to Adaptability in Office Buildings, Ph.D. Thesis, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2001.

Bramble, B.B., and Callhan, M.T., (1992). Construction delay claims (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Brand, S., (1994). How Buildings Learn, What happens After They’re Built, Viking Penguin, Penguin Books USA Inc., NY.,1994.

Building and Engineering Standard Method of Measurement (BESMM 4) (2015), National Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Abjua, Nigeria. 4th Ed., Emirati Innovative Services, 2015.

Chang, C. and Ive, G., (2002). Rethinking the multi‐attribute utility approach based procurement route selection technique.. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 20(3), pp. 275–84.

Chiang, Y.H., (2009). Subcontracting and its ramifications: A survey of the building industry in Hong Kong. International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 27(1), pp. 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.01.005.

Choudhry, R.M., Hinze, J.W., Arshad, M., and Gabriel, H.F., (2012). Subcontracting practices in the construction industry of Pakistan. Journal of Construction Engineering Management, Vol. 138(12), pp. 1353–1359. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000562.

Costantino, N., Pietroforte, R. and Hamill, P., (2001). Subcontracting in commercial and residential construction: an empirical investigation. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 19(4), pp. 439-447.

Dreyer, B., and Grnhaug, K., (2004). Uncertainty, Flexibility, and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Business Research. Doi:10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00315-6.

Eikeland, P.T., (2001). Teoretisk analyse av byggeprosesser, Samspill i byggeprosessen, prosjektnr. 10602 (Title in English: "Theoretical Analaysis of the Construction Process").

El-khalek, H. A., Aziz, R. F., and Morgan, E. S., (2019). Identification of construction subcontractor prequalification evaluation criteria and their impact on project success. Alexandria Engineering Journal, Vol. 58(1), pp. 217–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. aej.2018.11.010.

El-Kholy, A.M. (2019). A new technique for subcontractor selection by adopting choosing by advantages. International Journal of Construction Management, Forth coming .http://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2019.1683694.

FIDIC Conditions of Contract. (1999) FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works Designed by the Employer. (1st ed.).FIDIC.

FIDIC Conditions of Subcontract. (2011) FIDIC Conditions of Subcontract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works Designed by the Employer. (1st ed.). FIDIC.

Hayes, R. H. and G. P. Pisano (1994). Beyond World-Class - the New Manufacturing Strategy. Harvard Business Review Vol. 72(1), pp 77-86.

Hughes, W., Gray, C., and Murdoch, J., (1994). Construction subcontracts: for what we are about to receive. In Proceedings of the 7th annual Construction Law Conference, London September 1994. London, UK, pp. 413-442.

Husby, O., Kilde, H. S., Klakegg, O. J., Torp, O., Berntsen, S. R., and Samset, K., (1999). The Norwegian Centre for Project Management at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Report no. NTNU 99006, 1999 (Title in English: "Uncertainty as Benefit. Managing Project Uncertainty: Possibility, Risk, Decision, Action").

Joint Contract Tribunal Intermediate Named Sub-Contract. (2016) JCT Intermediate Named Sub-Contract Conditions 2016. UK: Joints Contracts Tribunal Limited.

Joint Contract Tribunal Standard Building Sub-Contract. (2016) JCT Standard Building Sub-Contract Conditions 2016. UK: Joints Contracts Tribunal Limited.

Karim, K., Marosszeky, M., and Davis, S., (2006). Managing subcontractor supply chain for quality in construction. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. Vol. 13(1), pp. 27-42.

Ko, C. H., Cheng, M. Y., and Wu, T. K., (2007) Evaluating sub-contractors performance using EFNIM, Automation in Construction, Taiwan, 2007.

Kreiner, K., (1995). In search of relevance: Project management in drifting environments. Scandinavian Journal of Management, Vol. 11(4), pp. 335- 346. Doi:10.1016/0956-5221(95)00029-u.

Lai, L.W.C. (2000). The coasian market-firm dichotomy and subcontracting in the construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 18(3), pp. 355-362. DOI: 10.1080/014461900370717.

Lew, Y-L., Hassim, S., Muniandy, R. and Hua, L.T., (2018). Structural equation modeling for subcontracting practice: Malaysia chapter. Engineering, Construction, and Architectural Management.

Lim T., and Heng, B., (2009). Organizational flexibility management in construction. ScholarBank@NUS Repository.

Mandelbaum, M., and Buzacott, J., (1990). Flexibility and decision making, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 44, pp. 17-27.

Marzouk, M. M., El Kherbawy, A. A., and Khalifa, M. (2013). Factors influencing sub-contractors selection in construction projects. Hbrc Journal, Vol. 9(2), pp.150–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. hbrcj.2013.05.001.

Mbachu, J., (2008) Conceptual framework for the assessment of subcontractors’ eligibility and performance in the construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, 26(5), pp. 471-484.

Mbachu, J. I. C. and Nkado, R. N., (2006). A conceptual framework for assessment of client needs and satisfaction in the building development process.. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 24(1), pp. 31–44.

Mbachu, J. I. C. and Nkado, R. N., (2007). Factors constraining successful building projects implementation in South Africa. Construction Management and Economics, Vol 2(1), pp. 39–54.

NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract. (2013) NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract.

NIK, The activities of the General Directorate for National Roads and Highways to ensure the quality of road works (in Polish), Control report , Warszawa, 2015.

Ofori, G. (1990). The Construction Industry. Singapore: Singapore University Press.

Oseghale, G.E. and Wahab, A.B. (2014). Analysis of relationship between preliminary estimate, tender sum and final accounts. Civil and Environmental Research, Vol. 6(6), pp. 76-84.

Parker, R. P., and Wirth, A., (1999). Manufacturing Flexibility: Measures and Relationships. European Journal of Operational Research. Doi:10.1016/S0377-2217(98)00314-2.

Paslawski J., (2008), “Flexibility approach in construction process engineering”, Technological and Economic Development of Economy, Vol 14, No 4, pp 518–530.

Patrizi P.A., Gross E.K., and Freedman S., (2006). “Strength in flexibility: Lessons from a cluster of capacity-building grants in the juvenile justice field, Evaluation and Program Planning, Vol 29, pp 162–170.

Piasny, J., and Paslawski, J., (2015). Selection of sub-contractors as the quality improvement tool in housing construction. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 122, pp 274-281http://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.10.036.

Polat, G., (2016). Subcontractor selection using integration of the AHP and PROMETHEE methods. Journal of Civil Engineering Management, Vol. 22(8), pp. 1042–1054. http://doi.org/10.3846/13923730.2014.948910.

Rahman, I.A., Memon, A.H., and Karim, A.T.A., (2013). Significant factors causing cost overruns in large construction projects in Malaysia. Journal of Applied Sciences, 13(2), pp.286-293.

Rodrigo1, M.N.N., and Perera, B.A.K.S., (2017). Management of nominated subcontractors in the construction of commercial buildings 2017.

Saari A., Heikkila P, (2008). “Building flexibility management”: The Open Construction and Building Technology Journal, Vol 2, pp 239-242.

Sager, T., (1990). Notions of flexibility in planning-Related Literature, Nordic Institute for Studies in Urban and Regional Planning, publication no. 1990:5, 1990.

Samuel, L., (2009). Subcontract and supply inquiries in the tender process of contractors. Journal of Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 27(12), pp. 1220–1221. http://doi.org/1010.1080/01446190903394533.

Sethi, A.K., and Sethi, S.P., (1990). Flexibility in manufacturing: A survey, International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 2, pp. 289- 328.

Shimizu, J. Y., and Cardoso, F. F., (2002). “Subcontracting and cooperation network in building construction: a literature review,” Proceedings IGLC-10, Gramado-RS, 2002.

Skaik, S., and Al-Hajj, A., (2013). Improving the practice of subcontract nomination in the UAE construction industry. In Proceedings of the Conference on Construction, Building and Real Estate Research, India, 10-12 September 2013. India: New Delhi, RICS COBRA, pp. 1-13.

Standard Bidding Document, SBD-2, (2007). Standard Bidding Document Procurement of Works – Major Contracts. Sri Lanka: Institute of Construction Training and Development (ICTAD).

Turskis, Z., (2008). Multi-attribute contractors ranking method by applying ordering of feasible alternatives of solution in terms of preferability technique Technol. Econ. Dev., Vol. 14 (2). pp. 224-239

Upton D.M., (1994), “The management of manufacturing flexibility in California”, Management Review, Vol. 36 (2), pp. 72-90.

Upton, D. M., (1995). Flexibility as process mobility: The management of plant capabilities for quick response manufacturing. Journal of Operations Management. Doi:10.1016/0272-6963(95)00004-C

Volberda, H. W., (1997). Building the flexible firm: How to remain competitive. New York: Oxford University Press.

Yika, F.W.H., Laia, J.H.K., Chana, K.T., and Yiub, E.C.Y., (2006). PFM a Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China b Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China, Building Serv. Eng. Res. Technol. Vol. 27(3). pp. 18319.

Published

2023-06-02

How to Cite

Emmanuel, O. ., Udebunu , J. ., & Nikolaiev, V. . (2023). Influencing factors of subcontractors’ quality of work and flexibility in Poland and Nigeria. Ways to Improve Construction Efficiency, 1(51), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.32347/2707-501x.2023.51(1).3-24