Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the causes of road construction delays in Ghana and identify appropriate mitigation measures.

The initial approach involved an empirical analysis of 48 road projects to quantify the extent of time. This was followed by a survey of the perception of road agency and donor partner officials of the critical causes of road project delays.

About 70 per cent of road projects experience delays and 52 per cent experience cost overruns. The average time overrun and cost overruns of road projects in Ghana was 17 months and US$1.15m (or 22.5 per cent), respectively. The five most critical causes of road construction delays were delay in finance and payment of completed work by owner (client-related); inadequate contractor experience (contractor-related); changes in scope by the owner during construction (client-related); delay to furnish and deliver the site to the contractor (client-related); and inflexible funding allocation for project items (donor-related).

The most critical constraint of this study is the fact that findings are based on only the views of industry professional experts. It may be assumed that despite using broadly used terminology to refer to the causes of project delays, the interpretations by respondents may have differed from those intended. Further research could look at the correlation between time overrun and cost overrun using principle component analysis.

The identified delay factors are not unique to the road sector. From both academic and practical perspectives, the results emphasizes on the need for a holistic and integrated risk management model for the entire construction industry in Ghana.

The paper examined the causes of road project delays in the Ghanaian context and recommended remedial measures.

In Ghana, the duration of construction projects from inception to completion is becoming a great concern, recently, especially among clients and beneficiaries, because of the rising interest rates, inflation, development plan targets, among other factors. Hence the need to understand the causes of delays and cost overrun in the construction sector has become more important than ever. This study therefore aims to identify the major factors underlying time and cost overruns in projects related to the education sector in Ghana to proffer practical solutions in addressing them.

The study conducted a survey among clients’ consultants and representatives of the contractors working on about 60 government school projects. A relative importance index was used to determine the relative effects of the factors causing construction time and cost overruns.

The key factors causing construction time overrun were: financial problems, unrealistic contract durations imposed by clients, poorly defined project scope, client-initiated variations, under-estimation of project cost by consultants, poor inspection/supervision of projects by consultants. Other factors were underestimation of project complexity by contractors, poor site management, inappropriate construction methods used by contractors and delays in the issuance of permits by government agencies. Factors affecting cost overruns were financial difficulty by client, delays in payments of completed works, variations in designs, lack of communications plans, poor feasibility and project analysis, poor financial management on site and material price fluctuations.

The research was limited to only the educational sector projects.

Practically, this study highlights for the construction sector the critical factors causing project time and cost overruns in Ghana. Identification of these factors provides the basis for pragmatic solutions to enhance the chances of project success.

The identification and solutions to project time and cost overruns, especially for educational sector projects, contribute toward making public goods more affordable and accessible to most citizens, particularly in developing countries.

This study contributes to the debate on factors causing project time and cost overruns in the construction sector especially from a developing country’s perspective.

Speed to the market is becoming a key competitive priority in developing countries’ environments even though lack of technology, poor skilled labour and under-developed infrastructure remain daunting challenges. The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes and relative importance of delay factors in the introduction of food products to the market in the era of time-based competition.

The study employed a case study approach in understanding the phenomenon in its natural settings and making sense of it through process and participants observations. Again, a two-stage approach (first, interviews and second, questionnaire) was used in collecting data from the respondents who work in a project team for a large food processing firm. The data was analysed using the relative importance index technique.

The results show that the most important causes of delays in new products introduction, especially in the food processing industry, are: high number of projects running concurrently; lack of project management process; lack of consistent project management structure; high workload on project team and delays caused by external laboratory.

This study sought to identify detailed delay factors in the introduction of new products with respect to the food processing industry and more importantly established the relative importance of these delay factors as a decision support system for managers in the food processing industry.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the causes of scope creep on project completion in the real estate development industry in Ghana.

Both simple random sampling and convenience sampling techniques were used in selecting the respondents for the study. The respondents were experts working in the real estate development industry in Ghana.

Results from the study showed that the most critical factors that cause scope creep in the Ghanaian real estate development industry are client changes, unforeseen risks and unclear scope. Mitigating measures for addressing these factors were proposed.

This paper is limited to causes of scope creep in the real estate development industry in Ghana based on data collected from only real estate development firms in Accra. Due to geographic constraints, the researcher was unable to sample real estate development companies across the entire country. The finding of this study may not be generalised since causes of scope creep can be unique to individual country contexts.

This paper has documented the critical causes of scope creep and its major impacts on project completion in the real estate development industry in Ghana. The results will help project managers in the industry to appreciate the causes of scope creep and its effect on project completion as well as increase the quality of economics on real estate management and reduce the costs and risks of housing of delivery in the country.

The paper examined the causes and mitigation of project scope creep in the Ghanaian context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between environmental management practices (EMP) and competitive operational performance with respect to reduced cost, improved quality, improved flexibility and improved delivery as well as overall environmental performance, of firms, using data from a developing country.

The study employed a survey approach with responses from 164 informants from different industries and used partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between EMP and competitive operational performance and their overall impact on the environmental performance of firms.

The results indicate that EMP by firms have a significant positive effect on firms’ competitive operational performance. Again, firms’ competitive operational performance has a partial positive effect on the overall environmental performance. It was also realized that the EMP initiated by a firm have a direct positive impact on the overall environmental performance of the firm.

There is the need for organizations to take steps to plan and implement EMP since it is likely to enhance their competitive operational performance as well as their overall environmental performance.

The findings demonstrate the impact of EMP on competitive operational performance as well as on the overall environmental performance of firms. This is important as firms struggle with balancing investments in those practices against the perceived benefits that might be obtained from the practices.

The work provides insights and adds to the literature in the area of EMP and firm performance by providing evidence from a developing country environment. This study is among the few that have investigated the impact of EMP on firm performance in developing country environments.

The Pension Trust Company (PTC) in Ghana is the sole agency responsible for the management of the first-tier pension scheme as well as processing of claims submitted by beneficiaries for this scheme. The claim processing system at PTC was wrought with significant delays resulting in severe customer dissatisfaction and hardship to retirees. Hence, a new system – Age 54⁺ project – was developed to address the problems related to claims processing. The purpose of this paper is to report on the efficiency gains from the new claim processing system implemented at PTC and to use the philosophies behind the lean operations concept to explain the results.

Data for this study were obtained from the benefits system of PTC for the period 2009–2013. The data consist of a series of benefits processing time for two groups of 56,000 claimants – those cleared under the Age 54⁺ project and those cleared under the old processing system. The processes of the two claim processing systems were analysed and their processing times compared.

The new system – Age 54⁺ – decreased the average processing time for new claims by 20 per cent. The new system is a simple approach which is driven by a “Let’s Start in Time” idea.

The operations management literature suggests that process redesign approaches and the implementation of continuous improvement techniques represent mechanisms for achieving performance improvements at governmental agencies. This study shows and discusses the redesign of a social security scheme process using a lean operation concept of waste elimination method and application of kanban to deliver performance improvement.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the critical risk factors affecting mining projects in Ghana.

A purposive sampling approach was used in selecting the respondents for the study. These were practitioners working on mining projects in Ghana.

The study identified 22 risk factors contributing to mining project failure in Ghana. The five most critical mining project risk factors based on both probability of occurrence and impact were unstable commodity prices, inflation/exchange rate, land degradation, high cost of living and government bureaucracy for obtaining licenses. Mitigation measures for addressing the identified risk factors were identified.

This paper is limited to data collected from practitioners working on mining projects. Due to geographic and logistical constraints, the study did not include the perception of local communities in quantifying the risk factors.

This paper has documented the critical risk factor affecting the mining industry in Ghana. Though the identified risk types are also prevalent in other sectors of the construction industry, the key findings of this paper emphasize the need for a comprehensive risk management culture in the mining sector. From an academic research perspective, the paper contributes to a conceptual risk assessment framework.

The information gathered through this research can be utilized in identifying and understanding risks during the early stages of mining project implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the causes and effects of delays in public sector housing projects in Ghana.

A purposive sampling approach was used in selecting the respondents for the study. These were experts working on various state housing construction projects in Ghana.

Results from the study showed that the critical factors that contribute to project delays in Ghana are; delay in payment to contractor/supplier, inflation/price fluctuation, price increases in materials, inadequate funds from sponsors/clients, variation orders and poor financial/capital market. The critical effects of delays are cost overrun, time overrun, litigation, lack of continuity by client and arbitration.

This paper is limited to causes and effects of project delays in Ghana based on data collected from only one state institution. Due to geographic constraints the researchers were unable to sample state institutions across Ghana involved in various housing projects.

This paper has documented the critical state housing construction project delay factors in Ghana. The results will help project managers and policymakers appreciate the effects of these delays on project outcomes.

Measures aimed at reducing cost of housing projects in Ghana can translate into significant benefits to the poor and support achievement of government objective of providing affordable housing to low income citizens.

This research focussed on the key factors and best practices that lead to the success of state housing projects within the Ghanaian context.

Proper risk management is a critical requirement for the success of every project. This is, to a large extent, due to the role risk plays in determining project outcomes. The mining sector usually is linked with high environmental, social and economic risks. Hence, the process of systematic risk management applied to a single case study of a tailings re-mining project in Ghana holds the potential for invaluable insights on risk management in the mining sector. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Mining organization experts were asked to identify project risks, and 50 staff from the organization were invited to make subjective assessments of the probability of occurrence and consequences for each of 15 identified risks. From this assessment, a risk severity matrix was developed.

The findings show that the most severe risks for a tailings re-mining project include spillage caused by leakage from pipes; vandalism by illegal mining operators; late deliveries of mining materials; the effect of rainfall; and failure to gain project approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. Risk treatment options are suggested for these risks.

The study is limited to only the risk issues associated with tailings re-mining projects.

Practically, this study highlights for mining companies and operators, the critical risks factors that militate against successful tailings re-mining projects.

This study, essentially, reveals the threat of illegal mining operations to such an important project and hence the need for strong security to avoid such threats.

This study contributes to the debate on the risk factors that affect tailings re-mining, especially, from a developing country’s point of view.