FACTORS AFFECTING IN THE PREPARATION OF CONSTRUCTION WORK SCHEDULE

JUSTIN BONG CHUNN TAT

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

PSZ 19:16 (Pind. 1/07)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS / POSTGRADUATE PROJECT PAPER AND COPYRIGHT

Authors full name : Date of birth Title : :

JUSTIN BONG CHUNN TAT 10 NOVEMBER 1985 FACTORS AFFECTING IN THE PREPARATION OF CONSTRUCTION WORK SCHEDULE

Academic Session:

2008/2009

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I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the award of the degree of Master of Science (Construction Management)

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Prof. Dr. Muhd Zaimi Abdul Majid 30 JUNE 2009

FACTORS AFFECTING IN THE PREPARATION OF CONSTRUCTION WORK SCHEDULE

JUSTIN BONG CHUNN TAT

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Science (Construction Management)

Faculty of Civil Engineering Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

30 JUNE 2009

ii

I declare that this project report entitled Factors Affecting in the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule is the result of my own research except as cited in the references. The report has not been accepted by any degree and is not concurrently submitted by any candidature of any other degree.

Signature Name Date

: : :

..... JUSTIN BONG CHUNN TAT 30 JUNE 2009

iii

DEDICATION

Especially to my beloved father, mother, brother,

and all my friends.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Professor Dr. Muhd Zaimi Abdul Majid for his effort, encouragement and guidance.

In preparing this project, I was in contact with many industry practitioners. They have given me tips and useful information in order for me to complete the data sourcing. I am very thankful for them.

Last but not least, I am grateful to all my family members and friends for their support and understanding and providing me the fundamentals of character and work ethics to complete this task. Moreover, for their prayers, courage and understanding for me in my endurance to complete this mission.

ABSTRACT

Construction scheduling is widely used in many construction projects today but there still exists a large disparity in the proper use of this tool. Many projects schedule is created at the beginning of the project and never reviewed or revised until a problem arises. Besides, contractors lack the skills necessary for preparing good construction schedule. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to investigate the factors affecting the preparation of better construction schedule; establish the severity of these factors; and the methods of improvements for preparing better construction schedule. Comprehensive literature review has been conducted to gather the

information on the factors affecting the preparation of construction work schedule followed by structured questionnaire distribution as a main tool to gain data to establish the severity of these factors. The data attained were analyzed using average index and frequency analysis. From the analysis highlighted, there were thirty-five (35) factors where these factors were divided into four (4) main categories which were project specific factors, project management, working condition and external environment related factors. Hence, the results showed the top three factors that have the highest rank were complexity of project, identification of critical activities and type of project involved. In conclusion, the study also identified recommendations that can be used by the project participants in order to prepare effective and good construction work schedule in the local construction industry.

vi

ABSTRAK

Penjadualan kerja pembinaan digunakan secara meluas dalam banyak projekprojek pembinaan hari ini tetapi cara penggunaannya masih tidak betul dan tepat. Kebanyakan penjadualan projek dihasilkan pada permulaan projek tidak pernah dikaji atau disemak semula sehingga sesuatu masalah muncul. Selain itu, ramai kontraktor tidak mempunyai kemahiran yang mencukupi dalam penjadualan kerja pembinaan. Oleh demikian, objektif kajian merangkumi penyiasatan factor-faktor dalam mempengaruhi persediaan penjadualan kerja pembinaan yang lebih baik,

mengenalpasti tahap kritikal setiap faktor dan pengenalpastian kaedah peningkatan penyediaan jadual kerja pembinaan yang lebih berkesan. Kajian literatur secara

komprehensif telah dilakukan untuk mengumpul maklumat mengenai faktor-faktor yang menyebabkan kelemahan prestasi projek prmbinaan melalui kajian sebelum ini. Seterusnya, kajian soal selidik telah dilakukan untuk mengumpul data bagi mengenalpasti tahap kritikal setiap faktor. Data-data yang diperolehi dianalisis

menggunakan index purata dan analisis frequensi. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan terdapt 35 faktor penyebab dikenalpasti dimana faktor-faktor itu dibahagikan kepada 4 kategori utama iaitu faktor khusus projek; pengurusan projek; keadaan kerja dan faktor luaran. Dari analisis, 3 faktor utama yang mempunyai tahap kritikal tertinggi adalah kerumitan projek, pengenalpastian aktiviti-aktiviti genting dan jenis projek yang terlibat. Kajian ini juga memberi cadangan-cadangan yang boleh digunakan oleh pihak-pihak yang terlibat dalam projek untuk menyediakan jadual kerja pembinaan yang lebih efektif dan berkesan dalam ndustri pembinan tempatan.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

DECLARATION DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT ABSTRAK TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF APPENDIXES

ii iii iv v vi vii xii xiii xiv

INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Introduction Background of Study Problem Statement Aim and Objectives of the Study Scope of the Study Significance of the Study Research Methodology Summary 1 2 4 6 7 7 8 8

viii CHAPTER 2 TITLE LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 2.2 Introduction Importance of Construction Work Scheduling 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.3 Benefits of Construction Work Schedule Developing a Construction Work Schedule Construction Work Scheduling Techniques 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 Bar Charts Critical Path Method Choosing the Right Scheduling Method 2.4 2.5 Developing Scheduling Specifications Responsibility of Schedule Preparation 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 2.5.5 2.5.6 2.6 The Clients / Owners The Construction Manager The Designers The Contractor and Subcontractors The Design-Build Firm Fabricators and Vendors 18 19 20 22 22 24 24 25 25 26 26 26 27 27 28 10 12 13 14 15 15 10 PAGE

Sources of Planning Work Schedule 2.6.1 2.6.2 2.6.3 2.6.4 2.6.5 Construction Materials Machineries and Equipments Labours and Manpower Finance Time

2.7

Control and Monitor Construction Work Schedule 28

2.8

Characteristics of Good Construction Work Schedule 2.8.1 2.8.2 2.8.3 The Plan Subcontractor Input Schedule Card Trick 29 29 30 30

ix CHAPTER 2.8.4 2.8.5 2.8.6 TITLE Explicit Activities Name The Right Level of Detail Well Organized Activities Groupings 2.8.7 2.9 Proper Consideration of Weather 33 33 PAGE 31 32

Requirements of Successful Construction Work Schedule 34

2.10

Factors Affecting Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule 2.10.1 Project Specific Factors 2.10.2 Project Management 2.10.3 Working Condition 2.10.4 External Environment 36 39 40 41 41 42

2.11

Summary

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 3.2 3.3 Introduction Literature Review Methods of Data Collection 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.4 3.5 3.6 Primary Data Collection Secondary Data Collection 43 43 44 45 45 47 48 49

Analysis Method Reporting Results Summary

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1 4.2 4.3 Introduction Data Collection Demographic Profile of Respondents 4.3.1 Respondents Highest Qualification 50 50 51 51

x CHAPTER 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.4 TITLE Respondents Experience Current Working Position PAGE 52 53 53

The Analysis of the Factors 4.4.1 Analysis of Projects Specific Factors Considered 4.4.1.1 Average Index Analysis 4.4.1.2 Frequency Analysis 4.4.2 Analysis for Project Management Factors Considered 4.4.2.1 Average Index Analysis 4.4.2.2 Frequency Analysis 4.4.3 Analysis for Working Condition Factors 4.4.3.1 Average Index Analysis 4.4.3.2 Frequency Analysis 4.4.4

54 54 55

57 57 59 63 63 64

Analysis for External Environment Factors 66 4.4.4.1 Average Index Analysis 4.4.4.2 Frequency Analysis 66 67

4.5

Analysis on Improvement Methods in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule 68

4.6

Additional Suggested Factors Affecting In the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule 70 70 73

4.7 4.8

Discussion of Findings Summary

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

Introduction Conclusion Recommendations for future Study Summary

75 75 79 80

xi

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

81

APPENDIXES

84

xii

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

4.1

Project Specific Factors Considered in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule 56

4.2

Project Management Factors Considered in Preparing Better Consruction Schedule 61

4.3

Working Condition Factors Considered in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule 65

4.4

External Environment Factors Considered in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule 65

4.5

Improement Methods in Preparing Better Construction Schedule 69

5.1

Factors Affecting the Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule 76

5.2

Severity of Factors Affecting Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule 77

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

1.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12

Research Framwork Flow Chart Highest Qualification of Respondents Working Experience of Respondents Working Position of Respondents Project Specific Factors Tabulatin of Project Specific Factors Project Management Factors Tabulation of Project Management Factors Working Condition Factors Tabulation of Working Condition Factors External Environment Factors Tabulation of External Environment Factors Tabulation of Improvement Methods

9 52 52 53 54 56 58 60 63 64 66 67 68

xiv

LIST OF APENDIXES

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

APPENDIX A

QUESTIONNAIRE FORM

84

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction

The construction development projects are vastly increasing in Malaysia as the Government is taking the initiative towards making Malaysia a developed country by 2020. In association to that, the construction arena became the catalyst for this development purpose. Malaysian today is mesmerized by the unique

development today namely the Kuala Lumpur Tower, The Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang and The North-South Light-WayTransit. These have become the Malaysians pride.

Nevertheless, in ensuring these massive projects to be completed and utilized, some important elements must be considered, such as cost, time period and design quality. Thus, in this research, time factor for the completion of a project is crucial.

The construction development projects in Malaysia have adopted several scheduling and monitoring techniques to handle similar projects using manual or computer software operations. The clients monitor and check progress evaluations of work at site through his representative, the Superintending Officer or nominate other consultants.

Generally, the site supervisor will prepare scheduling reports to be evaluated and recommended by the client. The scheduling technique used will be the

Precedence Diagram presented in the form of Microsoft Project or Primavera computer software.

This methods of scheduling is becoming more widely used in most of the construction projects especially Government projects. Thus, with this new

technique, the process of construction in future can be identified and understood.

Therefore, research is done to identify factors affecting the preparation of a workable schedule of using Gantt chart, critical path method and other elements in the development projects in Malaysia. The usage of this method is predicted to reduce the problem of late possession of site and ensure that optimum cost, completion time and highest quality throughout the project.

1.2

Background of Study

Construction scheduling has come a long way in the last 25 years. Unfortunately, despite the widespread use of computerized scheduling on construction projects today, there still exists a large disparity in the level of understanding in the proper use of this powerful tool. According to Frank (2004), some even say there is a crisis in the construction industry because they believe scheduling software is being misused to assert delay claims and there is, in their view, a predominance of poor quality schedules.

The monitoring and control for construction projects sometimes cannot be seen on the whole and it takes a long time to reach a solution for any problem. The planning which is drafted together with current needs at that time will also give rise to late possession of sites and other problems regarding to site possession.

In association to that, the clients and contractors should be exposed to the importance and benefits of using work scheduling as an effective way to plan future work. The concept of work scheduling technique using critical path and Gantt chart gives a great impact on a project by assimilating every party involved in the construction project in reducing cost, shorten the time period and increase the quality of construction productivity.

Glenwright (2008) also stated that a characteristic of contemporary project scheduling is the over-simplification which stems from the inability of unaided human beings to cope with sheer complexity. Even though a detailed plan is

necessary, the management also need only act when deviations from the plan occur. A technique can be developed to resolve this situation that would be very simple but yet rigorous in application. One of the difficulties in the traditional approach is that planning and scheduling are carried on simultaneously.

Besides that, according to Twomey (2006), delivering a project on time relies on managing the development process, choosing experienced professionals, assessing timeframes realistically, and anticipating that some unforeseen problems are likely to come up. Aggressive management of typical scheduling issues that occur throughout construction can help ensure that projects are completed within the intended timeframe.

Hendrikson (2008) mentioned that in developing a construction plan, it is common to adopt a primary emphasis on either cost control or on schedule control. Some projects are primarily divided into expense categories with associated costs. In these cases, construction planning is cost or expense oriented. Within the categories of expenditure, a distinction is made between costs incurred directly in the performance of an activity and indirectly for the accomplishment of the project. For other projects, scheduling of work activities over time is critical and is emphasized in the planning process.

Traditional scheduling procedures emphasize the maintenance of task precedences (resulting in critical path scheduling procedures) or efficient use of

4 resources over time (resulting in job shop scheduling procedures). Finally, most complex projects require consideration of both, cost and scheduling over time, so that planning, monitoring and record keeping must consider both dimensions. In these cases, the integration of schedule and budget information is a major concern.

According to Glenwright (2008), the first step was to separate the functions of planning from scheduling. The basic elements of a project are activities and resource expenditures and execution times are associated with each activity in the project. These factors, combined with technological relations, produce schedules proposing varying completion dates. Management comes into possession of a

spectrum of possible schedules, each having an engineered sequence, a known elapsed time span, a known expenditure function, and a calendar fit.

In fact, Twomey (2006) stated that the key factors in keeping a project on track are to understand what causes delays and then to properly plan and manage schedule issues before they become problems. Delays of individual construction tasks may not be preventable. However, those that cant be avoided do not

necessarily have to hold up the entire project. The success of any construction project is based on balancing the resources of cost, quality, and schedule. All three of these issues are important. On many projects, however, time is the most critical issue for the overall success of the plan.

1.3

Problem Statement

Some project participants care more about their schedules than others. Some contractors prepare schedules only because it is a contract requirement. On far too many projects schedule is created at the beginning of the project and never reviewed or revised until a problem develops. The best approach is for all project participants to join in the scheduling process and develop a meaningful schedule, and then use it

5 throughout the duration of the project. This is most likely to happen when the schedule is realistic, useable, and understood by all of the project participants.

Besides, Harban Singh (2004) mentioned that work schedule submitted by the contractor should contain the main activities, sequence of activities, timing of activities, critical activities and critical path, and important milestones. Since there are no clear guidelines for the application of project scheduling in project management the current practice is entirely depending on the experience of the project manager. This has resulted in a lot of time wasting effort before parties involved in the project accept any work schedule.

Nevertheless, there are still weaknesses in term of formal guidelines for the preparation and submission of work schedule. Several problems associated with project scheduling are the inability to fully utilize the schedule, lack of understanding of scheduling techniques, and unable to see the importance of work schedule as stated by Mohamad Ibrahim et al (2006).

Furthermore, Jon et. al.(2002) said that as many contractors lack the skills necessary for successful scheduling, an owner may choose instead to provide to the contractor for successful scheduling consultant and may even pay for this service.

The participation of key subcontractors and suppliers to the development of a workable plan (detailed activity plans) is emphasized by Claugh and Sears (2000) and Walker (1996) who argues that construction planning and scheduling must be done by participation of people who are experienced in and familiar with the type of field work involved.

A similar idea is advocated by Ballard (1997) who emphasizes the idea of enabling what he calls the Last Planner participation in producing directives to drive direct work processes assignments. He thinks that failing to prepare good assignments by planning at crew level, will prevent plans from being realized even if the upstream planning was good. The last planner principle requires selecting assignments from activities that are known to can be done. Without this has caused the uncertainty and variation of work flow, which results in less percentage of non-

6 productive time. Problems will arise in sequencing decisions which was made by last planners based on their knowledge of working conditions and constructability issues, as well as, selecting the right amount of work which will use the labor and equipment capacity as directed by the schedule.

However, it appears that it is not how often the network is recalculated or updated but instead it is how well the plan and schedule continue to fit the actual conduct of the work. As many of the key problems of implementation lie in the general environment of the project and not under the direct control of the project, project managers must look outside the project and ahead to anticipate problems and develop contingency plans. Kiiras (2001) stated that this can only be achieved by means of continuous planning and steering during project life instead of the traditional detailed project planning before the start and reporting during execution.

1.4

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to identify the factors affecting in the preparation of construction work schedule.

To achieve the aim, the main objectives of this study are outlined as follows:

(1) To investigate the factors affecting in the preparation of better construction work schedule; (2) To establish the severity of these factors; and (3) To identify improvement methods in preparing better construction work schedule.

7 1.5 Scope of the Study

The scope of study is confined to building projects undertaken by contractors registered with class G5 to G7 under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in the locality of Johor.

1.6

Significance of the Study

The study intends to analyze and promote a better understanding and recognition of the complexities of the performance of contractors in completing projects. This study will offer some practical ideas, based on actual construction experience, to assist contractors in developing realistic construction schedules. It is intended to make the reader aware of certain aspects that frequently seem to be ignored and to alert owners to potential problems as well as possible courses of action to avert problems. The points outlined in the paper will also assist owners in evaluating the qualifications of potential contractors who may propose on building development projects.

8 1.7 Research Methodology

In achieving the results of this study, a pilot study is done to obtain opinion from various parties involved in the construction projects. From this study, a

hypothesis shows that the schedules normally given to clients from the contractors are done using the critical path method or precedence diagram method rather than bar charts.

The approach for implementing this research is divided into a few categories. The purpose of this methodology is to simplify the process of data collection and other relevant information which is obtained throughout this research. The research framework flow chart is illustrated as show in Figure 1.1.

1.8

Summary

This research is a descriptive research and the type of research method used is questionnaire survey. The method of data collection is through questionnaire forms. The respondents are randomly selected from Classes G5 to G7 registered under the CIDB. After the primary data are sufficiently obtained, the data will then be collected to achieve the objective of this study.

Initial Study

Identify Problem of Statement

Importance of Study

Objectives

Research Scope

Literature Review

Factors Affecting in the preparation of Construction Work Schedule

Research Methodology

Data Collection: Questionnaire Survey

Results Data Analysis: 1. Average Index 2. Frequency Analysis

Discussion

Conclusions and Recommendations

Figure 1.1: Research Framework Flow Chart

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1

Introduction

This chapter covers the introductory of construction work schedule. The last part of this chapter will focus on the factors affecting in the preparation of construction work schedule with listing of all the possible factors adopted according to the suitability of the local construction industry.

2.2

Importance of Construction Work Scheduling

The importance of planning and scheduling in construction cannot be overestimated. The US Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, includes an industry definition of a Construction Manager (CM) that states they will typically schedule and coordinate all design and construction processes (USDL, 2005). In a study entitled What does a Construction Manager really do? performed by the Construction Management Association of America, it was found that one of the

11 most important general areas was time management, in which CMs reported their most important function is to develop a construction schedule, followed by developing and managing a critical path schedule for the job (CMAA, 2005). Glavinich (2004) answers the question, Why Schedule the Construction Project? with the following: to communicate the construction plan, establish production goals, monitor and establish progress, and to manage change.

The construction schedule is one of the most powerful management tools at the service of the construction manager. A well-planned and realistic schedule that takes into account as many variables as possible will help keep a construction project moving along smoothly, alert the construction manager when the project is about to run into snags, and help make needed adjustments when unforeseen circumstances arise. In order to do all that, though, the plan must have the input and some degree of ownership from everyone who will have to live by it. Otherwise, there is risk of having workers and subcontractors who are working against the construction schedule rather than with it.

The schedule is prepared by the scheduler and/or planner. In preparing a schedule, the scheduler or planner may meet or discuss with some people for crucial information, e.g. estimator, manager, superintendent, sub-contractor, architect, engineer, owner, and materials' suppliers. They may need to study the contract, drawings, specification, and perhaps, conduct site reconnaissance. Further, they need to know about manpower and productivity. Apart from the schedule, it is also

necessary to prepare systematic monitoring to provide early warning of restraints as well as imaginative action to overcome them.

According to Jon et. al. (2002), the scheduling consultant should strive to develop a trusting relationship with the different participants to develop a workable plan and project schedule. Proper scheduling provides the best opportunity for a wellcoordinated and well-sequenced project that is delivered on time and within all participants budget. This is because a well-coordinated and well-sequenced project is often difficult to achieve. He must work diligently with the project stakeholders who are the general contractor, the subcontractors, the construction manager, and the owner, to ensure the construction process participants are working collectively toward agreed-

12 on objectives. These objectives usually involve completion of performance in the time allotted and delegated responsibility for maintaining the schedule utilizing the methodology reflected in the project schedule.

2.2.1

Benefits of Construction Work Schedule

The Construction schedule major purpose is to map out the progress expected on a construction project in a timeline that is the most efficient and cost effective possible. It does this through various means, and serves a number of subsidiary purposes as well. These include:

(1) The original conceptual plan can help determine the feasibility of the project and give an idea of the estimated cost of the project; (2) It serves as a reasonable, understandable document upon which contractors and subcontractors can make realistic bids on the project; (3) It makes binding agreements with subcontractors. When a subcontractor signs the agreed-upon construction schedule, they are committing to meeting its terms; (4) It gives the owner of the project a realistic timeline by which he can expect his project to be completed. It lays out the sequence of events and the process that will be followed by the construction company and subcontractors, making it easier for him to monitor; (5) It serves as a map and scheduling tool for the project manager, who can use it to schedule work crews, time deliveries and equipment rentals and monitor the progress in case of needed changes; (6) It becomes a daily, weekly and monthly benchmark of the actual progress on the project as the construction subcontractors and crew leaders enter finished jobs and concerns;

13 (7) It serves as a base plan for any changes that might have to be made due to unforeseen circumstances, unexpected delays (or completion ahead of schedule it can happen!), or owner changes and additions; (8) When coupled with communication and project management software, it is an effective, efficient way to track progress, and flag trouble spots before they become critical.; (9) It serves as documentation of work completed as the concerned parties sign off on agreed upon completion; (10) In the event of dispute or questions, it can serve as legal documentation of the actual history and events of the construction; and (11) After project completion, it can serve as a guide in future projects through post-completion analysis.

2.2.2

Developing a Construction Work Schedule

Construction schedule specifications are all over the map. According to the committees of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACEI) and the Project Management Institute College of Scheduling (PMICoS) (2005), there is no consistency in arrangement, focus or language. Some specifications start right off with the software to be used along with the requirements for reports and updates. Others start with scheduler qualifications while still others introduce the purpose of the schedule and the schedule scope of work. Frequently, however, these procedures, processes and technical details are completely intermingled. At the same time, there are variances in common details, such as determination of lost weather days and the maximum duration of an activity. Some specs specifically require the qualification of the scheduler, while one owner offers to fund the scheduling services for the contractor.

14 The idea is that processes and procedures that are common to many specifications will be independent of the technical portions of the specifications. The mechanical details of the schedule and specific software requirements can reside in a technical section of the specification. Time extension requirements should be separate as well. Having a common framework of schedule specifications will lead to more consistency across contracts and will reduce confusion among the contractor community. Accomplishing general industry agreement on the

procedures and process should be more achievable. Having a separate technical section may not necessarily lead to agreement on many details, but will at least lead to development of a checklist for owners to consider in their schedule specifications.

If todays construction schedules are properly prepared, construction managers, owners, suppliers, and sub-contractors have an efficient and effective management tool to control complex construction projects accomplished by a diverse array of designers, engineers, suppliers, and specialty subcontractors. Planning, coordination, and communication of the work plan, schedule, performance, and control are then greatly facilitated in the efforts to achieve projects successfully and profitably. However, the if needs to become when. And this means all of the underlying aspects need to be checked by an independent, qualified and experienced master construction scheduler and the validation-auditing team as stated by Glenwright (2008).

2.3

Construction Work Scheduling Techniques

The advantages to using a complete construction scheduling package include: immediate field updates; realistic revisions; input from those actually completing the work; and a stronger investment in completing the work according to schedule and on time. Onsite internet access to the construction schedule and communication capabilities give the project leadership the tools they need to provide onsite supervision that is responsive and decisive.

15

The nature of the project schedule will normally depend on the cost of the project. A bar chart is usually used on smaller projects. As the cost of the project increases owners start to demand a schedule that is based on a critical path method network.

2.3.1

Bar Charts

A bar chart simply indicates when specific activities will start date, their duration and finish date. The activities are plotted on a time scale. Since each specific activity on a bar chart is depicted as a straight line on the schedule, a bar chart is easy to understand. A bar chart does not indicate the interrelationship between different activities nor does indicate that the commencement of one activity is dependent on the completion of a predecessor activity.

2.3.2

Critical Path Method

It is important to understand the relationship between the commencement and completion of the various activities which comprise a construction project. Critical path method (CPM) network and Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) are the two scheduling devices which indicate the dependencies and interrelationships between different activities. activities are indicated as a network. Those interrelationships between

Over the years, the CPM has become the common construction network schedule. A CPM shows the sequence of each activity, the start of each activity, the

16 dependence of that activity on the completion of a preceding activity, and how the completion of that activity will restrict the commencement of subsequent activities.

The CPM is graphical model of a project. The basic components of the network are individual arrows which represent specific activities. The activity can be any aspect of the project that requires either time or resources. The project activities are indicated by a logical flow of the work from the left hand side of the schedule to the right hand side. At each end of the arrow are activity numbers. The numbers are referred to as i-j designations. The letter i represents the start of the activity and the letter j represents the finish of the activity. At some place along the arrow and between the i-j designations is a number which represents the number of days that activity will require. The schedule also has a time scale. Finally, the critical path is shown as darker or different colored line that runs through the critical activities.

According to William (2009), the basic steps in creating a CPM schedule include: (1) identification of the basic tasks or activities that must be performed to complete the project; (2) estimation of the duration of the specific activities; (3) making a determination of the logical flow of the work, which includes a determination of which activities must be completed before the subsequent ones can commence; and (4) inputting the information into the computer so that it can make the numeric calculations that lead to the formulation of the schedule.

Terms that are used in context of a CPM network include:

(1) (2)

An Arrow or line is used to represent one activity; A Node or Event which represents the beginning and ending point of an activity;

(3)

A Milestone is typically a significant event that the owner or contractor wants to track;

(4) (5)

A Link which represents the path between two Nodes; A Dependency is the relationship between two different activities as they related to the commencement and completion of those activities;

17 (6) A Predecessor activity is an activity that restrains ( refer to as a restrain) a subsequent depend activity; (7) A the restrained activity that follows a Predecessor activity is a Successor activity; (8) Job logic refers to the necessary time and order of specific activities in relationship to the whole project; and (9) Float represents the number of days an activity can be delayed without delaying the project, with a critical activity having no float.

The critical path is computed in two steps. The first step involves a forward pass calculation of the activities; starting with the first activity on day one of the project. During the forward pass calculation the early start and early finish for that activity is calculated. The early start is the earliest time an activity can start and is based on the completion of predecessor activities. The early finish is the earliest time an activity can finish, assuming it starts on time and takes no longer than was planned. The second step is the backward pass calculation. It involves calculating the late start dates and late finish dates for each activity. While the late start date is the latest date an activity can start without delaying the project completion, the late finish date is the latest date an activity can finish without delaying the project. Scheduling software automatically completes these two calculation passes then prepares a report with the dates and a graphic network portrayal of the schedule.

The Critical Path is the longest continuous chain or series of activities through the CPM network. In essence, the critical path is the shortest period of time it will take to complete all the activities that comprise the project. The completion of project is delayed when one of the critical path activities is not started on time, not finished within the allotted time, or not finished on time. If a non-critical activity exceeds its float time, that activity will become critical.

18 2.3.3 Choosing the Right Scheduling Method

Jon et. al. (2002) mentioned that one of the key decisions to be made before a project begins is which scheduling method is best suited to the project. Frequently, the owner and the designer decide on scheduling requirements as a part of the planning process for a project and the process of drafting specifications for bidding or negotiating. In making this decision, considerations were given to;

(1) The size, complexity, and location of the project; (2) Project phases and timing; (3) The number of parties that will act as prime contractors; (4) The need date for completion of certain milestones and of the project; (5) The experience of the owner, the architect/engineer, or the construction manager in the use of specific scheduling techniques; (6) The capabilities and experience of the prime contractor(s) in preparing and implementing the project schedule required; (7) The type and quality of data desired by the owner, architect/engineer, construction manager, or contractor to effectively plan, schedule, coordinate, monitor, appraise, and document the progress of the project; and (8) The amount of owner-furnished or third-party-furnished material and equipment involved.

Regardless of the scheduling system chosen, the owner or the owners agent responsible for managing the project should have experience with the scheduling method selected.

19 2.4 Developing Schedule Specifications

After an owner or agent has chosen the proper scheduling technique, either the critical path method (CPM) or the bar chart method, it is important to the success of the project that specifications outlining the scheduling requirements be carefully prepared and incorporated into the contract. Including such requirements enables

an owner to more effectively control and enforce the scheduling obligations of the parties involved.

Schedule specifications should be clear and concise, avoiding ambiguities and potential misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this is not often the case.

Frequently, specifiers have little knowledge of the scheduling technique being specified and the responsibilities and liabilities they can incur.

Experience has shown that it is very difficult to establish standard schedule specifications for use by the construction industry today. For example, The short

specifications may range from one paragraph to five or ten pages.

specifications are dangerous, and the long ones are expensive. However, experience has shown that the more detail included in the specifications, the better chance there is to eliminate misunderstandings.

Hence, Jon et. al. (2002) stated that good Construction work schedule specifications set forth the type of schedule that will be in effect for the project. Specifically, they address:

(1) The scheduling method and techniques to be used; (2) Which party has the responsibility for preparing the schedule; (3) Coordination of any multiple-contract situations that will exist on the project; (4) The amount or level of schedule detail required by the specification; (5) The need to incorporate all contractually specified milestones. This may include completion dates for critical components of work, deliveries of equipment, dates for promised information (such as owner-tenant

20 layouts), dates for access to the prject, and availability dates for key work areas (where renovbation proceed in existing facilities); (6) The need for the contractor to identify dependencies that will restrain performance; (7) Processing procedures for shop drawings (preparation, submission, and approval); (8) Processing procedures for submittals (initial and updates, plus frequency); (9) Procedures for review and approval of the schedule; (10) Remedies for noncompliance (for initial schedule as well as updates); (11) Updating procedures (specifying frequency, requirements for joint updating meetings between parties, the keeping of meeting minutes, data requirements and methods for incorporating time-impact analyses and time extensions as part of the updating process); (12) Progress reports; (13) Whether or not the schedule will be used for determining progress payments; (14) Procedures for justification of time extensions (using time impact analysis); (15) Float utilization and availability to project and parties; and (16) Involvement of subcontractors in the scheduling process.

2.5

Responsibility for Schedule Preparation

In order for the construction plan to meet all these requirements, though, it must have the willing cooperation and buy-in of the owner, construction manager, sub-contractors and designers. In short, everyone needs to have some degree of ownership in the plan. For that reason, its important that the owner or construction manager to have the input of every major player in the project during the design stages of the construction schedule.

21 As early as the bidding stage, it pays to be open to suggestions and communication. Being open to input from bidding subcontractors allows the plan to be refined based on the experience and capabilities of those who have tackled similar work in the past. If those lines of communication are open from the very start, every subcontractor who makes a successful bid has a realistic stake in the project because they feel they helped define the tasks and timetable. Without it, updating the schedule regularly becomes a time-wasting chore in their minds. When a contractor and his crew have an investment in the plan, they feel they are helping to manage it rather than being a slave to it.

As quoted by Willis (1986), most of the following parties will be participants in a typical construction project. Women now play significant roles in all sectors of the construction industry, and it is expected that their participation in the industry will continue to increase.

Once the project delivery system and scheduling methods have been selected, the party responsible for preparing the project schedule must be designated. In the traditional approach, for example, an owner requires a general contractor to prepare the schedule. In addition, the owner has the option to require the general contractor to submit the schedule either for formal approval or for informational purposes only.

Under such circumstances, the general contractor also had options. For example, the general contractor may choose to prepare the schedule in-house or may contract the services of a scheduling consultant to provide technical assistance if the required skills and experience are not available in the general contractors organization. On occasion, an owner may specify that the general contractor hire a scheduling consultant and may even insist on approving the use of any consultant selected by the contractor.

As many contractors lack the skills necessary for successful scheduling, an owner may choose instead to provide to the contractor for successful scheduling consultant and may even pay for this service as referred by Jon et. al. (2002). This option also offers alternatives. For example, the scheduling consultant can work with the contracted party or parties and assist in developing a schedule for all work

22 contracted; the resultant schedule can then be submitted by the contractors to the owner for formal approval or informally agreed to by the owner. The scheduling specifications should include information on whether the schedule submittal required formal approval by the owner.

2.5.1

The Clients / Owners

This is the individual, the firm, or the organization that funds the construction project and will own the completed facilities. The owner, perhaps assisted by consultants, specifies the scope of the construction project.

In some instances, the owner may specify the detailed layout of the facility, the type of materials to be used, and so forth. The owner, perhaps assisted by some of the parties described below, and depending on the technical expertise of his or her own staff, may inspect the project work as it is being performed and on its completion. The golden rule in the construction process is: "He who has the gold makes the rules." Because the owner controls the purse strings, he or she dictates the kind of contract that will be used and selects the other parties to the project.

2.5.2 The Construction Manager

He or she is an employee of a professional construction management firm that may be retained by the owner to perform predesigned planning, to help select the designer, to help select contractors, and to perform post-contract award functions. The construction management firm may perform all or some of these functions in return for a fee. When capitalized, the term Construction Manager (CM) means an

23 employee of such a firm. The term construction manager can also be applied to many other management level personnel within the construction industry.

When an owner contracts the services of a construction manager as his agent, the construction manager is frequently responsible for overall scheduling and coordination when multiple trade or multiple prime contracts are used. As a result, the construction manager has several options schedule development and implementation.

The construction manager may prepare an overall detailed master schedule for the project. This type of schedule usually be supported by milestone schedules and/or prebid integrated schedules for each of the key multiple prime or trade contracts that are anticipated to be let with this method of the project delivery.

As trade contractors are let, the construction manager has the option to require each trade contractor to participate jointly in the development of the trade contract schedule. The objective is to reflect the trade in the development of the trade contract schedule. The objective is to reflect the trade contractors plans and intentions to execute their work and to coordinate their dependencies with others.

The alternative to this procedure is to require trade contractors to prepare their own schedules, based on certain basic information provided by the construction manager, and submit them to the construction manager for approval. After approval, the construction manager has the option to incorporate the trade contractors schedulers into the detailed master schedule or to maintain them separately. From the detailed information, a time-scaled master summary control schedule may be developed by the construction manager to provide management with overall project visibility and a management tool for use in periodic briefings and reports.

When design-build construction manager project delivery systems are used, the scheduling options available to the design-build contractor construction manager are basically the same as with the agency construction manager.

24 2.5.3 The Designers

They may be employees of the owner, but are more often the employees of an architect-engineer (AE) firm. In addition to designing a facility that meets the expressed needs of the owner and that complies with applicable building codes, the AE may be retained by the owner to act as his or her representative in inspecting the project work, to review and approve materials that the contractor proposes to use in the work, to review and recommend contractor requests for progress payments, and to perform other functions on behalf of the owner.

2.5.4

The Contractor and Sub-contractors

These are individuals or firms that undertake to perform required construction work in return for a contract price. Contractors may be categorized as prime contractors and subcontractors. Prime contractors have a contractual

relationship with the owner, whereas subcontractors have a contractual relationship with the prime contractor or with another subcontractor. General contractors are prime contractors who contract to perform ail of the required work, possibly excluding some specialty items such as electrical and mechanical work that the owners desire to contract directly with the specialty contractors. Subcontractors are sometimes referred to as first-tier subcontractors, second-tier subcontractors, and so on. A first-tier subcontractor has a contractual relationship with a prime contractor. A second-tier subcontractor has a contractual relationship with a first-tier subcontractor, and so forth. A typical construction contractor, regardless of whether a prime contractor or a subcontractor, will perform certain functions, either personally or by use of his staff. These functions include the following:

A. Home Office Functions. These include the selection of potential projects, estimating the costs of such projects, the preparation of

25 bids or negotiating construction contracts, the procurement of construction materials, the management and maintenance of contractor-owned equipment, and personnel and financial

management. The titles of home office contractor staff members might include: estimators, schedulers, procurement specialists, accountants, counsel, project managers, fleet managers, safety officer, quality control officer, and others.

B. Field Functions. The contractor's principal field function is project management. The contractor may have a project manager, a

project superintendent, or both as his field supervisors at the project site. Other contractor field personnel may include office engineers, office clerks, time-keepers, clerks, inspectors, and foremen.

2.5.5 The Design-Build Firm

The term is usually reserved for firms that perform both design and construction functions, but such a firm may also perform planning functions.

2.5.6 Fabricators and Vendors

These terms apply to firms that contract with the owner or with the contractor, to fabricate and deliver fabricated or off-the-shelf construction materials to be used in the project. The construction contract may call for the contractor to purchase and install all of the material, or it may call for the owner to purchase some of the material for installation by the contractor. Material that has been procured by the owner is termed owner-furnished material (OFM). If the owner is the federal government, the material is termed GFM.

26 2.6 Sources of Planning Work Schedule

When everyone is together, it is more possible to identify needs for additional manpower, added equipment, and potential time loss and gain. If a delay has caused the loss of time, the entire team can work on recovering the lost time. If there is a gain, the team can come up with the best way to use the gain.

There are many method employed in project planning.

Many project

planners were used to table form which comprises from a date list, starting or completed information, which are provided by the management. Regardless of the methods employed, the decisions made will require the collection of data on materials, machineries, equipments, manpower, finance and time.

2.6.1

Construction Materials

The measurement of quantities by the quantity surveyors from building plans and specifications can be summarized to determine the particular quantity and types of materials to be used to perform a work. The availability and delivery period for these materials should be obtained and from suppliers or according to experience.

2.6.2

Machineries and Equipments

The machineries and equipment which are required to complete a construction project will definitely depend on the suitable types and the method of which there are place or keep safely. After the selection on the particular

27 machineries or equipments is made, the availability and delivery time must be determined.

Heavy machineries such as cranes, cement mixers, steel bar cutter and steel bar bending machines for structural works are required during the execution of the work scheduling. These matters are important to prevent machineries from idling which induce will induce a high cost.

2.6.3

Labours and Manpower

Labours and manpower are important assets in construction projects. Without labours, a project can become abandoned and the contractor will need to terminate the contract. Thus, labours should be taken into account when scheduling work to ensure that the participation of the labours is at the maximum standard.

The numbers of skilled workers should also be considered in the work performed. It should be adequately sufficient to meet expected workload and work tasks. A mistake in this planning will result in late submission of works.

2.6.4

Finance

The allocation of finance must be scrutinized to reimburse for the cost of the supply of construction materials, labours and machineries. Any financial difficulties must be solve to ensure that the construction project can be carried out smoothly.

28 2.6.5 Time

The most crucial element which must be carefully monitored is time. The owners will normally check for starting dates, completed dates and other relevant yet important dates in contract submissions by the contractors. Besides, there are also time limits which must be obeyed by construction organizations during planning stage.

The time require for the construction materials to be delivered to site should follow a specified schedule. This is to fulfill workers demand and reduce wastage. A proper understanding of the project requirements will enable a more effective and efficient materials handling at site.

2.7

Control and Monitor Construction Work Schedule

Communication remains vital once construction begins. Keeping the lines of communication open involves making regular updates on progress both ways. Its up to the crew leaders to be sure that progress is tracked regularly in the scheduling software. Any possible delays need to be noted, as well as finished work flagged. Making the means to communicate instantly available on site provides both incentive and opportunity to keep the schedule properly maintained.

In addition to daily updates, regular weekly meetings of the team leaders are vital as well. These meetings should include the project manager, an owner Update meetings can

representative, and representatives of the subcontractors.

provide a look-ahead on the projects progress and possible difficulties or gains. By breaking down the schedule into smaller blocks, weekly meetings can help make the transition from the big picture to a more detailed look at the tasks needed in the

29 upcoming week. Again, including all interested parties makes use of the expertise of everyone concerned, and fosters the team attitude that keeps the project on track.

2.8

Characteristics of a Good Construction Schedule

According to Frank (2204), the best approach is for all project participants to join in the scheduling process and develop a meaningful schedule, and then use it throughout the duration of the project. This is most likely to happen when the schedule is realistic, useable, and understood by all of the project participants.

2.8.1

The Plan

All good schedules start with a well thought out planned work sequence. The plan should consider factors that could impact the timing of the work such as site access, access to work areas, long lead time equipment and materials, labor availability, and which areas of the work will take the longest. Once this plan has been established, it should be clearly communicated to all project participants. It is important to make sure that those not working on site, such as the engineer reviewing shop drawings or material fabricators, understand the priorities and planned work sequence.

30 2.8.2 Subcontractor Input

Generally, construction managers and general contractors are capable of putting together a schedule without subcontractor input. However, it is the

subcontractors who are in the best position to know their durations and plan their work sequences. For this reason, I have found that a detailed schedule planning meeting with the major or early subcontractors is one of the best ways to ensure the schedule has appropriate work activity durations and sequencing.

Subcontractor input will also confirm durations for shop drawing submittals and material deliveries. How long will shop drawings take? What time has the manufacturer indicated for fabrication of materials? The initial schedule will

include these activities, but the subcontractor can help "tune up" the schedule with more accurate information. Subcontractors can also assist in the schedule updating process, since they are closest to the actual work. Often they can suggest "workarounds" or alternate sequences to mitigate delays or other field problems.

2.8.3

Schedule Card Trick

One method for coordinating the schedule input of large groups of contractors is a meeting called the "Schedule Card Trick." The contractors prepare their activities and durations in advance of the meeting on different colored 3 x 5 cards. Several large calendar sheets with weekly time increments are also prepared before the meeting. During the "card trick" meeting, you "build the building," starting with the earliest work areas. The activities for each work area are sequenced and arranged by placing the cards on the calendar sheets and connecting related activities.

31

In this way, the construction schedule is created in front of the subcontractors. This is a great opportunity to hash out key sequencing and planning issues. For example, which subcontractor goes first inside the building, ductwork, or masonry? Will the finishes go from the bottom floor up or the top floor down? The "Schedule Card Trick" gives all the subcontractors a chance to see the big picture, as well as where and when their work fits in the schedule. There is also the added benefit of "buy in" of the schedule by the subcontractors because they helped put it together.

2.8.4

Explicit Activity Names

Work activities in the schedule should have names that are clear and specific. Explicit work activity names make it easy to understand what is included (and not included) in the work activity and when they start and finish. In order to properly track work progress, the schedule needs separate activities for each trade contractor even if the activities are scheduled to occur at the same time. The plan may be for them to start and finish together, but you will never be able to identify the contractor responsible for delaying the activity if they are combined in a single activity in the schedule. Similarly, it is good practice to separate activities that a certain trade contractor may do in different time periods or with different crews, such as "framing walls" and "drywall and tape."

32 2.8.5 The Right Level of Detail

When construction is just getting started on a project, it is not unusual to find the project team focused on the earlier parts of the work. As a result, they may not want to take the time to develop a detailed schedule for work that is a year or more in the future. On many projects, a detailed schedule will be developed for the site work, structure and enclosure, and a single long duration activity will be allocated for "interior finish work." This will work, as long as enough time is allocated in the schedule for the later work and a future schedule details this work.

A schedule may not be used if it is cluttered with too much detail. Generally, activity durations should range between one and four weeks. How much to "break down" individual work activities also depends on how large the work areas are and if a set of activities will always be done in sequence. It may be all right to combine "form/reinforce/place footing - east side" if the duration is one or two weeks. One day activities or milestones signifying the completing of key project activities (i.e. permanent power available, roof tight, completion of a work stage) are also useful. Even a large, detailed schedule may not provide all the specific activities needed in the field or may be too cumbersome to use on a daily basis. For these reasons, field staff often develops short-term, hand drawn schedules to coordinate day to day activities among subcontractors. This is an acceptable practice if the durations and sequencing in these short-term schedules are consistent with the "official" project schedule. Significant differences between the two schedules are indications that there may be a problem with the overall schedule because it is not accurately reflecting the work being performed in the field.

33 2.8.6 Well Organized Activity Groupings

The typical construction schedule on a large project will include hundreds or even thousands of activities. To make the schedule useable, it should be structured so these activities can be sorted and grouped, making it easy to find desired schedule information. Generally, activities can be separated by phases, such as bid/award, shop drawing/fabrication, new construction and renovation. It is helpful if the activities can be sorted by bid package or specification section within these categories. It works best if the groupings of activities correspond to the planned work areas and sequences (i.e. how you are planning to "build the project"). For example, if the interior work on the floor of a building will be completed all at once or in two halves, or by specific functional areas (Administration Area, Classrooms, Library, etc.), it is important to create schedule activities for each work area. Breaking work into smaller pieces in the schedule also allows better tracking (for starts and finishes) and better logic (the following activity will probably start sooner). Areas on bridge and road projects are often sub-divided by survey stations or work phases.

2.8.7

Proper Consideration of Weather

Once a detailed schedule has been developed and the expected start date for the work is known, the project team should review the activities in relation to the time of year in which they are scheduled. In cold weather climates, activities which fall in the winter months may need to be shifted, or it may be necessary to plan for temporary enclosure and heating. Similarly, the schedule may need to allow more time for certain activities or show them being done on a limited basis because of weather considerations. Similar issues may arise in extremely warm areas or areas which have a rainy season. If a revised project start date or other delays shift the work by several months, the schedule should be updated and the activities that have

34 shifted into bad or difficult weather periods should be looked at closely and adjusted as needed to reflect the effect of weather.

This is one of the most often ignored aspects of preparing and updating project schedules; when not considered and planned for, seasonal effects can significantly impact the project cost and schedule. Finally, use the schedule. Hang a large plot on the wall at the jobsite. Write on it, noting actual starts and finishes, and make notes about changes and new issues. Put the new updates on top of older versions (which are very likely to be referred to by those who are really watching the schedule). Refer to it daily with the subcontractors. Formally review current activities at all regular subcontractor meetings. Awareness of the schedule and delays will allow for better planning and a smoother job. Throughout the project, be "schedule conscious." The schedule itself may experience delays, but time will move on.

2.9

Requirements of Successful Construction Work Schedule

There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the methods of schedule preparation and implementation. Although success has been achieved using all of these methods, each has had its own failures, due primarily to various user-oriented reasons.

According to Jon et. al. (2002), experience has shown that on fixed-price or lump-sum contracts, the best results have been achieved when the contractor is responsible for schedule preparation and maintenance, with the owner or the owners agent reserving the right to approve the initial schedule.

This assignment of responsibility makes a good deal of sense, considering the risks involved. On a fixed-price or lump-sum contract, the general contractor, in establishing its price, makes a number of assumptions based on the manner by which

35 it can perform the required work at a cost lower than the competition. Therefore, the general contractor is in the best position to plan and schedule its work and the work of the subcontractors and suppliers. If the general contractor lacks the technical capability to develop this information, there is always the option of hiring a scheduling consultant to convert the plans and intentions to the scheduling technique specified in the contract.

When multiple prime contracts are involved in project delivery, the responsibility for overall schedule preparation is best left to the owner or the owners agent. The owner is the only party with the authority and economic power to schedule and coordinate the multiple prime contractors involved. This does not, of course, preclude specifying and allowing the prime contractors to develop their own schedules for their own portions of the work and then monitoring them separately or on an integrated basis, throughout the life of the project.

When a design-build contractor is involved, the contractor or construction manager should be directly responsible for scheduling and coordination of the work. Regardless of the schedule preparation method chosen, the degree of success will depend on five conditions (Jon M. W. et. al., 2002):

(1) All parties need to commit to making the schedule work; (2) A good scheduling specification must be prepared to properly communicate to all parties their contractually required responsibilities, methods, and procedures for scheduling; (3) Once the schedule is agreed on, it must be implemented and periodically updated to reflect current status and how the remaining work is to be completed; (4) Timely and accurate submissions of delay analyses by all parties involved are a must to keep the schedule properly adjusted for excusable delay. Each party should strive to maintain a correct posture for the time of performance; and (5) The owner, or the party having the responsibility for overall schedule and coordination and the economic power to enforce the schedule, must

36 ensure schedule compliance by the various parties involved so as not to delay another party.

2.10

Factors Affecting in the Preparation of Better Construction Work

Schedule

According to Mohamad Ibrahim et. al. (2006), they believed that four areas should be properly investigated prior to the development of the project scheduling procedures. The critical areas that have been identified are process of acceptance, responsibilities of contracting parties, application of work schedule, and implications of work schedule.

According to Jon et. al. (2002), clear and concise schedule specifications outlining the responsibilities for scheduling and the requirements for preparation, approval, participation, use, maintenance, and reporting are essential for timely and successful completion of most projects. Unfortunately, poor scheduling especially in terms of its specifications, have contributed to the downfall of many projects. Some of the common problems associated with the poor construction work schedule include:

(1)

Not being specific about the method of scheduling required. Whatever the scheduling method chosen, it should be stated clearly and eliminate any opinions or ambiguities;

(2)

Not requiring contractors to involve subcontractors in schedule development and implementation. This is compounded by the problem of prime contractors;

(3)

Specifying only a maximum number of activities required. The level of detail required should be based on specific criteria. Based on experience, a minimum number of activities should be specified to ensure a sufficient level of detail;

37 (4) Owners not approving or rejecting a contractors schedule in a timely manner and not stating reasons for rejecting when formal approval of a schedule is required. Owner should state clearly in the specification how long he intends to take to review and approve the contractors schedule or reject it as unreasonable or not feasible; (5) Stating that the schedule will be periodiacally updated, but not being specific about the frequency of such updates. The frequency of updating should be clearly stated, such as mothly or bi-weekly. If the specified freuquency becomes unnecessary, the requirement can always be reduced to a lesser frequency, either temporarily or permanently; (6) Not requiring joint updates. Joint updates involving all key parties are encouraged to maximize communication abouyt schedule, performace, problems, actions reuired, and intended plans for completion. The objective is to eliminate the surprises that can result when a single party independently prepares an update and distributes the updated version of the schedule to all other project participants; (7) Not requiring that all physical access and availability restraints be incorporated into the project schedule. The party responsible for preparing the schedule should include this information in the schedule and define the relationship of each restraint to the sequence of work planned to accomplish the required scope of work within the time period specified; (8) Not specifying an explicit period for review and approval of shop drawings and other contractual submittals. Many contracts simply state that shop drawings will be submitted within a reasonable period of time. Define reasonable by stating

specifically when submittals are to be made at the duration of their review and submittal periods; (9) Not requiring owner-furnished equipment to be incorporated into a construction schedule.

38 This is essential for identifying proper dependency and time impact when delivery delays occur; (10) Not specifying in the contract all contractual dependencies with proceeding, concurrent, and follow-on contractors in a multi-prime contractor project. Additionally, not requiring prime contractors to define other key points of interface, particularly with the subcontractors and suppliers on which they are dependent; (11) Allowing manpower and equipment restraints to create critical and near-critical paths. These situations may be the result of float abuses, which attempt to hide float that normally exists. Critical or near-critical paths are those with less than two weeks of contingency; (12) Not giving specific instructions for graphic techniques to be used for network or bar-chart construction. The failure to require readable time-scaled diagrams for the original plan and updates can result in schedules that are useless and effectively unintelligence to the owner, subcontractors, architect/engineer, and contractor; (13) Not including in the specifications remedies for noncompliance of initial schedule submittal and subsequent update information; (14) Not including a narrative reporting requirement as part of the update process; (15) Not including a remedy for schedule-specification discrepancies. Most specifications include a statement that, in the event of discrepancies, the specifications shall govern the development and utilization of the project schedule; (16) Stating a maximum duration requirement for activities. Keeping durations to a minimum, along with criteria for levels of indenture, is appropriate; (17) Not requiring time extensions to be justified by proper documentation (such as the use of time-impact analyses and fragnets) and not requiring that they be submitted to illustrate the impact of various types of delays.

39 (18) Restricting network changes until the contractor submits details in writing and the owner formally approves; (19) Preparing an integrated schedule for a project involving numerous prime contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, and then not allowing their direct participation; and (20) Completely restricting any schedule changes involving change orders and/or delays until an agreement on cost is reached.

Furthermore, to study the factors affecting the preparation of construction work schedule, a throughout analysis is done on the factors affecting the schedule performance of a project. Previous studies were done by Iyer et. al. (2006) on critical factors affecting the schedule performance, an evidence from the Indian Construction Projects. From this study, the critical factors were being analyzed and a new list of factors was being developed. They were divided into 4 categories, namely project specific factors, project management, working condition and external environment.

2.10.1 Project Specific Factors

Project Specific factors which were affecting the preparation of better construction work schedule was the type of project which is undertaken, the nature of the project, complexity of the project and size of the project.

40 2.10.2 Project Management

According to Chua et. al. (1999), project management action is a key for project success. By using management tools, the project managers would be able to plan and execute their construction projects to maximize the projects chances of success. Thus, the variable in the project management include inadequate control mechanism, feedback capabilities, troubleshooting,

communication,

coordination effectiveness, decision making effectiveness, monitoring, project organization structure, planning of schedule, and related previous management experience.

A number of attributes which will affect the preparation of better construction work schedule includes, communication system, planning effort, safety and quality assurance program and overall managerial actions. The list of attributes under this factor is as follows:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16)

Coordination with other team members; Leadership quality; Technical capability; Authority to make decisions; Ability to delegate authority to team members; Understanding responsibilities of team Members; Commitment of all parties; Backing up plan; Identifying critical activities; Availability f resources; Human resource training; Monitoring and feedback by client; Project completion date specified but not yet planned; Mismatch in capabilities of client and architect; Tendency to pass on the blame to others; Conflicts among team members;

41 (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) Ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques; Reluctance in timely decision; Lack of understanding of operating procedures; Inadequate project formulation in the beginning; Negative attitude; Aggressive competition at tender stage; and Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how.

2.10.3 Working Condition

This factor comprises attributes like scope and nature of work and also the climatic condition at site.

2.10.4 External Environment

The attributes under this factors includes the economic environment, social environment, political environment, physical environment, industry relation environment and technical advancement.

42 2.11 Summary

Todays

available

technology

can

allow

everything

from

instant

communication to actual web camera supervision of the job site. The ability to update and make changes as soon as new information is available reduces delays and allows everyone to make the best use of their time. Take full advantage of the capabilities of construction schedule and project planning software by fostering a team attitude that encourages everyone involved to take ownership of the plan. The end result will be a construction schedule and plan that is useful throughout every stage of construction from conception to post-construction analysis.

Moreover, it is difficult to establish standard specifications for use in the construction industry. Despite advances, more effort is needed to shift preferences towards employing scheduling technology. Scheduling software aids in the

effective daily decision-making on projects, predicting time problems encountered when altering the scope of work. No single industry scheduling procedure is

applicable for all projects. However, the procedure for reaching timely scheduling decisions should be established prior to its demand. Contractor preferences for updating, cost loading, and formatted reports effect the success of the project. Specifications for these scheduling issues should be agreed upon by all parties prior to construction and included in the contracts supplemental conditions.

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1

Introduction

This chapter describes the methodology and procedures applied in achieving the objectives of this research. Method of data collection described in orderly manner in the aspects of how the data were collected, where the data is to be source and how the design till implementation of the questionnaire.

3.2

Literature Review

A comprehensive literature review had been carried out through variety information sources, which included library reference books, journal, articles and researches papers and reports from Internet. These reviews help the writer having more understanding in:

44 (1) Factors that affect in the preparation of construction work schedule

(2)

Project team layers roles and responsibility throughout the course of construction period.

(3)

The severity of these factors from previous study for local and international condition.

3.3

Methods of Data Collection

Data collection is considers as the crucial stage in gathering all required information form the fundamental in achieving main objectives of the study. Basically, the main or primary data were collected from literature review. Data collected from studies regarding the preparation of good construction work schedule. All factors obtained from previous from previous study were listed. The primary data was as a platform for the formulation of questionnaire.

Secondary data is the finalize questionnaire as the main data to be used for the analysis for the study. Secondary data are collected form questionnaire survey. The data collect through questionnaire survey delegated to contractors that involve in management of construction project.

45 3.3.1 Primary Data Collection

The primary data in this study were gathered through literature review of journals by on preparation of good construction work schedule in construction project. A list of factors were identified and listed as a guideline to develop the questionnaire for study. Besides factors causes, identification of factors improvement to minimize the problem was also identified. From the factors identified, selection was done to suit the suitability for local industry as the previous study was for international condition.

The selection of the factors affects was alone also done by studying from surveys with the selected project team players. From their past experience not all of these factors seem to be suitable for local condition and some of these factors also seem to be repeated (same factor meaning but different statement). The project team players selected were also asked about their opinion on improvement factors in order to minimize the poor performance problem.

The purpose of this primary data was as a guideline to develop the final questionnaire. Selection on factors suitability was important to produced short and simple yet compact and informative questionnaire.

3.3.2

Secondary Data Collection

The questionnaires structure framed based on three types of answering techniques, namely rating-based, selective based and open-ended format. Ratingbased format, respondents were instructed to rate their opinion for a specific fact by making a 5-point scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Secondly, selective-based questions only required respondents to tick in the appropriate box or boxes.

46

The structured questionnaires for this study would cover 3 sections,

(1)

Section 1: The background of the respondents such numbers of years of experience, qualification, his/or position in the company. The company profile where he/she currently employed, such as business activity and nature of the company.

(2)

Section 2: The second part comprises the questions the indicating the possible factors that could affect in the preparation of construction work schedule in a construction project.

(3)

Section 3: Third part would be the proposed methods of improvement when preparing better construction work schedule.

In this study, there were 100 questionnaire being distributed to randomly selected respondents which are contractor from Johor of classes G5 to G7 registered under CIDB, with various ages group, level of experience, organizations, working nature and responsibilities as their involved in managing construction project.

The chosen respondents for the study are involve themselves in the construction project running and in particular had encounter experience during construction phase. In addition to that, the selected organizations are ranging from medium to large scale organization only. The frameworks of categories of the

respondents are from executive level and managerial level and having responsibility in running respective construction project representing the contractors.

47 3.4 Analysis Method

The data are processed and analyzed partly by the researcher examination and partly using the Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS). The analysis of the data from the receivable feedback from the questionnaire quantitative stimulation for instance in average index calculation. Average index was calculated to reflect the effectiveness of aforementioned criteria. The analysis will rank the factors based on the frequency analysis and the average index. This index was calculated as follows (Abd Majid and McCaffer, 1997):

Average Index Formula: Xn N = Weighting given to each factor by respondents (1 to 5); n = Frequency of the respondents; N = Total number of respondents

Average Index =

Whereby the application of Average index in questionnaire for instance would be: 1 = 1, frequency of Strongly Disagree response 2 = 2, frequency of Disagree response 3 = 3, frequency of Neutral response 4 = 4, frequency of Agree response 5 = 5, frequency of Strongly Agree response

48 Besides, they can be represented by:

1 2 3 4 5

= = = = =

Very High Degree of Consideration High Degree of Consideration Neutral Consideration Low Degree of Consideration Very Low Degree of Consideration

With the rating scale as below: (Abd Majid and McCaffer, 1997) 1 = Strongly Disagree (1.00 Average index < 1.5) 2 = Disagree (1.50 Average inde x < 2.5) 3 = Neutral (2.50 Average index < 3.5) 4 = Agree (3.5 Average index < 4.50) 5 = Strongly Agree (4.5 Average index < 5.00)

3.6

Reporting Results

All possible factors that affect the preparation of better construction work schedule were listed and ranked according to the rating scale by respondents. These factors were divided into 8 categories:

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Project specific factors; Project management; Working Condition; External Environment

Besides factors affecting, the improvements methods to prepare better construction work schedule were also identified and reported to project team members responsibilities.

49 3.7 Summary

The data collection for this study was obtained from literature review and questionnaire. Through literature review, factors affecting the preparation of better construction work schedule were obtained from previous researchers. The pin-pose of questionnaire was to gain more information on the possible factors from the respondents opinion and past experience. Besides that, there were questions for the respondents to rank the severity of these factors. Questionnaire survey was conducted in to gain information for this study. The questionnaire consist of three (3) section, where the first section was about the background of the respondents, the second section indicated possible factors affecting the preparation of better construction work schedule and the third section was the proposed improvement methods to prepare better construction work schedule of the construction projects.

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

4.1

Introduction

This chapter presents the research analysis and discussions. Based on the questionnaire survey done earlier, the data will then be processed and analyzed. This is done in order to generate the results which will then be tabulated and used for further discussion. The first section explains the respondents demographic profile. The next two sections display results on the factors affecting the preparation of better construction work schedule.

4.2

Data Collection

The qualitative data generated from the questionnaire survey was analyzed using the frequency analysis and relative index technique as explained before. The

51 summary of data analysis for questionnaire survey will be tabulated in the next section. The result will be used as the basis for further discussion in the next chapter.

The developed questionnaire was distributed one-hundred (100) sets to targeted respondents within the locality of Johor contractors. Out of one-hundred (100) sets distributed, thirty (30) sets that are 30% were managed to be returned and hence will be used as the basis of the analysis of this research.

4.3

Demographic Profile of Respondents

The demographic profile of respondents through the questionnaire shows that majority of the respondents were from top management of the company. The positions held were project managers, site supervisors or site engineers, quantity surveyors, executives and civil engineers. This shoes and proves that the data gained for the purpose of this analysis is deemed to be strong and appropriate, as they comes from the top management of most of the organizations. Opinions given were from diverse perspective with professional insight.

4.3.1

Respondents Highest Qualifications

According to the study, Figure 4.1 showed half of the respondents hold a Degree in Civil Engineering. 26.7% were graduated with a Degree in Science

Building. Besides, 13.3% of the respondents have the highest qualification of Degree in Quantity Surveying. A minority holds Diploma in Quantity Surveying and LCCI Higher Diploma with 6.7% and 3.3% each.

52

Figure 4.1: Highest Qualification of Respondents

4.3.2

Respondents Experience

Figure 4.2 showed the respondents working experience in the construction industry. A majority of them, 36.7% have 2 to 3 years of experience. 30.0% of the respondents have 4 to 5 years of working experience in the field. A minimum of them, only 20.0% have less than 2 year of experience follow by 13.3% having 6 to 7 years of experience. However, none of them have more than 8 years of experience in the field. This proves that there were many junior level executives in the construction industry.

Figure 4.2: Working Experience of Respondents

53 4.3.3 Current Working Position

Based on the study, Figure 4.3 showed a majority of the respondents, 36.7% hold positions as site engineer or site supervisors. Project managers and quantity surveyors have equal percentage which is 23.3%. Next, 10.0% were of executive levels and 6.7% were civil engineers. This is due to the fact that many respondents graduated with a degree in civil engineering work as site engineers or site supervisors instead of civil engineers.

Figure 4.3: Working Position of Respondents

4.4

The Analaysis of the Factors

The analysis for this section will cover the evaluation of critical factors that have been asked in the questionnaire. In addition to that, these factors have been discussed earlier in the literature review. Through the SPSS software, analysis is

automatically done by inserting the data, and hence the analysis is then tabulated. All

54 the factors discussed will be referred to as in short form term for instance B1, C2 and D3 for easy identification of the factors that has been discused. The factors were divided into four parts which is, project specific factors, project management, working condition and external environment.

4.4.1

Analysis of Projects Specific Factors Considered

Four (4) main factors were highlighted in this section. The results of the study were shown in Table 4.1. All (4) of this factors were ranked and anlazed using average index and frequancy analsysis as stated before.

4.4.1.1 Average Index Analysis

Figure 4.4: Project Specific Factors

55 Based on Figure 4.4 shown, the factors of this category have the highest scale of degree of consideration ranging from 4.50 to 5.00. The factor A3 has an average index of 4.73 followed by factor A1 with scale of 4.70. Then, factor A4 comes next on having a scale of 4.57. The last factor was A2 with a scale of 4.50. All of these factors were stongly agreed by the respondents and therefore these were very imporant factors affecting the preparation of construction work schedule.

4.4.1.2 Frequency Analysis

Table 4.1 showed the tabulation of the project specific factors in terms of its frequancy. Based on this survey it can be seen clearly that the majority of the

respondents have a very high degree of consideration that these factors were equally important to be considered to prepare better construction work schedule. The factor of A3 shows 73.3% of respondents have very high degree of consideration on this factor. This is followed by 26.7% with high degree. The factor of A1 shows that 70.0% of the respondents have very high degree of consideration while 30.0% with high degree. The factor A4 shows 60.0% have very high degree of consideration, 36.7% high degree and 3.3% in neutral position. On the other hand, factor A2 shows fairly half of all respondents who choses this factor has highest consideration, 43.3% with high consideration and 3.3% in neutral position.

Table 4.1: Project Specific Factors Considered in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule Level of Consideration Respondent's Frequency A3 Complexity of Project A1 Type of Project A4 Size of Project A2 Nature of Project f 0 0 0 0 1 % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 f 0 0 0 0 2 % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 f 0 0 1 1 3 % 0.0 0.0 3.3 3.3 f 8 9 11 13 4 % 26.7 30.0 36.7 43.3 f 22 21 18 16 5 % 73.3 70.0 60.0 53.3 Average Index 4.73 4.70 4.57 4.50

Rating 5 5 5 5

Description Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

Figure 4.5: Tabulation of Project Specific Factors 56

57 4.4.2 Analysis for Project Management Factors Considered

Twenty-Three (23) main factors were highlighted in this section. The results of the study were shown in Table 4.2. All (23) of this factors were ranked and anlazed using average index and frequancy analsysis as stated before.

4.4.2.1 Average Index Analysis

Based on the Figure 4.6, first fifteen (15) factors shows above figure of scale four (4). However, the remaining five (5) factors show below 4.00 scales. The factor of identifying critical activities (B9) shows the scale 4.73 that is between 4.50 and 5.00 which shows that it has a very high degree of consideration. Factor B1 have average

index at 4.67. Factor B6 having a scale of 4.57 whish is also considering high degree of consideration by the respondents. For factor B7, it shows the scale of 4.53. These factors were considered as very imporant factors as the rating was at a scale of 5 overall. Besides, these factor were the most severe under this categoty and were considered as top priority in any case.

Next, many factors fall under the scale between 3.50 to 4.49 which have high degree of consideration, starting from factor B5 which has a scale of 4.43. The factor B4 comes next having scale of 4.40. Next, factor B2 having a scale of 4.37. Factor B19 have scale of 4.33, followed by factor B20 with scale 4.30. Then, factor B23 have a scale of 4.23. The Factor B12 have a scale of degree of consideration 4.20. This is followed by factor B17 having a scale of 4.17 and factor B14 with scale 4.13. Factor B10 and B18 shows the same degree of consideration, 4.10. For the factor B16, it shows the scale 4.00. Next, factor B13 shows a scale of 3.93 and factor B21 shows a scale of 3.77. The factor B22 and B15 have average index of 3.73 and 3.67

respectively. These factors were fairly important as they score an overall of rating scale 4.

58

The last factor is B11 which shows a degree of consideration of 3.40 is considerede as not quite important. This is due to the fact that respondents believed that human resource training may not be an important factor to be considered is this category to prepare better construction work schedule.

Figure 4.6: Project Management Factors

59 4.4.2.2 Frequency Analysis

Figure 4.7 showed the factors identified by respondents under the category of project management factors. Factor B9 has the highest degree of consideration with 73.3% of respondents believe that it has strong influence while 26.7% of them have high degree of consideration. Factor B1 have 66.7% respondents who have highest degree of consideration and 33.3% who only agree. Factor B6 shows 60.0% who have highest degree of consideration but 36.7% who have high degree of consideration. 3.3% respondents stands neutral same as factor B3 and B7. Factor B7 has same percentage of highest degree of consideration which is same as factor B5. Half of the respondetns who choses factor B4 have highest degree of consideration while half of respondents who choses factor B2 only have high degree of consideration. This case was the same for factor B20, B23, B16 and B13 having 50.0% of high degree of consideration. 40.0% of respondents have highest degree of consideration for factor B19, B20, B17 and B14. Factor B17 have equal percentage (40.0%) of respondents having very high and high degree of consideration. 16.7% stands neutral but 3.3% have low degree of consideration on factor B17. The same case also applies to factor B10, B16 and B13 having 3.3% with low consideration. Factor B18 has 70.0% respondents who agree but only 20.0% strongly agree and 10.0% stands neutral.

On the other hand, factor B21, B22, B15 and B11 have equal respondents of 20.0% having highest degree of consideration for each factor respectively. Factor B21 has 43.3% who have high degree of consideration, 30.0% neutral and 6.7% with low degree of consideration. Factor B22 have 46.7% respondents having high degree of consideration which is same as factor B15. 13.3% of respondents stands neutral and 20.0% have ow degree of consideration for factor B15. Then, factor B11 have equal percentage (23.3%) of respondents having high and low degree of consideration while its neutral stand is about 33.3%.

Figure 4.7: Tabulation of Project Management Factors 60

Table 4.2: Project Management Factors Considered in Preparing Better Consruction Schedule
Level of Consideration Respondent's frequency Identifying critical activities Coordination with other team members Understanding responsibilities of team members Technical capability Commitment of all parties Ability to delegate authority to team members Authority to make decisions Leadership quality Lack of understanding of operating procedures Inadequate project formulation in the beginning Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how 1 f 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 f 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 f 0 0 1 1 1 4 3 2 2 3 4 5 5 8 6 3 % 0.0 0.0 3.3 3.3 3.3 13.3 10.0 6.7 6.7 10.0 13.3 16.7 16.7 26.7 20.0 f 8 10 11 12 12 9 12 15 16 15 15 14 12 10 12 4 % 26.7 33.3 36.7 40.0 40.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 53.3 50.0 50.0 46.7 40.0 33.3 40.0 f 22 20 18 17 17 17 15 13 12 12 11 11 12 12 11 5 % 73.3 66.7 60.0 56.7 56.7 56.7 50.0 43.3 40.0 40.0 36.7 36.7 40.0 40.0 36.7 Average Index 4.73 4.67 4.57 4.53 4.53 4.43 4.40 4.37 4.33 4.30 4.23 4.20 4.17 4.13 4.10 Rating 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Description Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree

B9 B1 B6 B3 B7 B5 B4 B2 B19 B20 B23

B12 Monitoring and feedback by client Ignorance of appropriate planning B17 tools and techniques B14 Mismatch in capabilities of client and architect

B10 Availability of resources

61

Table 4.2: Project Management Factors Considered in Preparing Better Consruction Schedule (Contd)
Level of Consideration Respondent's frequency B18 Reluctance in timely decision B16 Conflicts among team members B8 Backing up plan Project completion date specified B13 but not yet planned B21 Negative attitude Aggressive competition at tender B22 stage Tendency to pass on the blame to B15 others B11 Human resource training 1 f 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 f 0 1 1 1 2 4 6 7 2 % 0.0 3.3 3.3 3.3 6.7 13.3 f 3 6 8 7 9 6 3 % 10.0 20.0 26.7 23.3 30.0 20.0 13.3 33.3 f 21 15 13 15 13 14 14 7 4 % 70.0 50.0 43.3 50.0 43.3 46.7 46.7 23.3 f 6 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 5 % 20.0 26.7 26.7 23.3 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 Average Index 4.10 4.00 3.93 3.93 3.77 3.73 3.67 3.40 Ranking 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 Description Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Neutral

20.0 4 23.3 10

62

63 4.4.3 Analysis for Working Condition Factors Considered

Two (2) main factors were highlighted in this section. The results of the study were shown in Table 4.3. All (2) of this factors were ranked and anlyzed using average index and frequency analysis as stated before.

Figure 4.8: Working Condition Factors

4.4.3.1 Average Index Analysis

Based on Figure 4.8, factor C1 and C2 shows they have very high degree of consideration of a scale between 4.50 to 5.00. Factor C1 has a scale of 4.6 while factor C2 has a scale of 4.5. Both factor C1 (scope and nature of work) and C2 (climatic condition at site) were considerably very important factors which affects the preparation of construction work schedule.

64 4.4.3.2 Frequancy Analysis

Figure 4.9: Tabulation of Working Condition Factors

Figure 4.9 showed the frequancy analysis of both C1 and C2 factors. Factor C1 has 63.3% of respondents having highest degree of consideration, 33.3% have high degree of consideration while only 3.3% stands neutral. However, factor C2 has 60.0% of respondents having highest degree of consideration. It has the same

percentage (33.3%) for high degree of consideration same as factor C1. Besides, the percentage for respondents having neutral and low degreeof consideration is equal to the respondents who chose neutral on factor C1 which is 3.3%.

Table 4.3: Working Condition Factors Considered in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule Level of Consideration Respondent's Frequency C1 Scope and nature of work C2 Climatic condition at site 1 f 0 0 % 0.0 0.0 f 0 1 2 % 0.0 3.3 f 1 1 3 % 3.3 3.3 f 10 10 4 % 33.3 33.3 f 19 18 5 % 63.3 60.0 Average Index 4.60 4.50 Rating 5 5 Description Strongly Agree Strongly Agree

Table 4.4: External Environment Factors Considered in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule Level of Consideration Respondent's frequency D1 Economic Environment Technological D6 Environment Industrial Relation D5 Environment D2 Social Environment D4 Physical Environment D3 Political Environment 1 f 0 0 0 0 0 0 % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 f 2 0 1 1 3 10 2 % 6.7 0.0 3.3 3.3 10.0 33.3 f 2 7 9 10 12 11 3 % 6.7 23.3 30.0 33.3 40.0 36.7 f 12 11 14 14 11 6 4 % 40.0 36.7 46.7 46.7 36.7 20.0 f 14 12 6 5 4 3 5 % 46.7 40.0 20.0 16.7 13.3 10.0 Average Index 4.27 4.17 3.83 3.77 3.53 3.07 Rating 4 4 4 4 4 3 Description Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Neutral

65

66 4.4.4 Analysis for External Enviornment Factors

Two (6) main factors were highlighted in this section. The results of the study were shown in Table 4.4. All (6) of this factors were ranked and anlazed using average index and frequancy analsysis as stated before.

4.4.4.1 Average Index Analysis

Figure 4.10: External Environment Factors

According to Figure 4.10 shown, the factors for this category has high and neutral degree of consideration. Factor D1 has a scale of 4.27 for the average index. Next is factor D6 which has a scale of 4.17. Factor D5 has a scale of 3.83 while factor D2 have a scale of 3.77. Factor D4 have average index with a scale of 3.53. These factors were very important factors affecting the preparation of construction work schedule. However, the final factor D3 has a scale of 3.07 is considered as not quite important factor.

67 4.4.4.2 Frequancy Analysis

Figure 4.11: Tabulation of External Environment Factors

Figure 4.11 showed the tabulation of the factors in external environment category in terms of its frequancy. The factor D1 has 46.7% of respondents having the highest degree of consideration and 40.0% who have high consideration. 6.7% of the respondents stands neutral and have low degree of consideration. On the other hand, factor D6 have 40% of respondents having very high degree of consideration but only 36.7% have high consideration and 23.3 stands neutral. Factor D5 have larger group of respondents (46.7%) who have high degree of consideration if compared to very high degree (20.0%, neutral (30.0%) and low degree (3.3%). The same case happens to factor D2 where its percentage of respondents is the same for both having high degree of consideration and neutral. As for factor D4, 40.0% of respondents stands neutral and followed by 36.7% who agree, 13.3% strongly agree and 10.0% disagree. Then, factor D3 has 36.7% whostands neutral, 33.3% with low degree of consideration, 20.0% high degree of consideration and only 10.0% who strongly agree.

68 4.5 Analysis on Improvement Methods in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule

Table 4.5 showed the list of methods of improvement that could be considered in preparing better construction work schedule in the construction industry. Respondents show different opinion towards these methods of improvement.

Figure 4.12: Tabulation of Improvement Methods

From Figure 4.12, only three (3) methods were agreed totally by all respondents which were IM3, IM5 and IM8. The other five (5) methods suggested were not agreed by all respondents. However, the percentage of respondents who agree that these methods will prove improvement is more than those who think otherwise. IM1 and IM4 both have 97% of respondents who agree that these methods were important while 80% of respondents agree on IM2 and IM6. Only 70% of respondents agree on IM7 which proves that IM7, upgrading communication system used or using more technology when giving information for efficiency and more effectiveness such as email, PDA, and GPRS is not a good idea in improving the preparation of construction work schedule. Nevertheless, these improvement methods

69 should be consider as an important actions to be taken by all project team players to improve the preparation of construction work schedule.

Table 4.5: Improvement Methods in Preparing Better Construction Schedule

Improvement Methods Project team members IM3 must be committed to their responsibilities. Continuous and proper planning before IM5 construction, so that resources and time are sufficient. Give prompt IM8 feedback/action when any matter arises. Project team leaders should keep good IM1 relationship with all project participants. Contractor should manage IM4 his financial resources and plan cash flow. Learn more on managing human, because with good skill on human IM2 management and good motivating skill, motivated workers could improve productivity. Material supply should be readily preserved to avoid IM6 insufficient or depleted resources. Upgrade communication system used. Use more technology when giving information for efficiency and more effectiveness IM7 such as email, PDA, and GPRS. It is better to give information in written form rather than verbal instruction or information. Yes Frequency Percentage (f) (%) 30 100 No Frequency Percentage (f) (%) 0 0

30

100

30

100

29

97

29

97

24

80

20

24

80

20

21

70

30

70 4.6 Additional Suggested Factors Affecting in the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule

Out of the thirth (30) respondents, one respondents suggested that transparency in sharing data among involved parties is also a factor which should be considered when preparing the construction work schedule. Besides he also suggested that team players should have good communication skill as a method of improvement.

4.7

Discussion of Findings

The information obtained through earlier literature study in Chapter 2, literature review and the results from the questionnaire distribution for questionnaire survey of the local contractors have fulfilled the objective of this study.

In general, this thesis was conducting an exploratory study on the preparation of construction work schedule to determine the factors which were affecting this mater in the construction industry. Therefore, the objectives of the study and findings will be reviewed as a resolution of the objectives. There were three (3) objectives posted in this study and further details on the individual findings and an overall outcome as the general conclusion summarized the entire study.

In this study, thirty-five (35) possible factors affecting the preparation of better construction work schedule were investigated. These factors were divided into four (4) main categories namely project specific factors, project management factors, working condition factors and external environment related factors. From the factors listed, eleven (11) factors scored an average index between 4.50 to 5.00 rating scale, twenty-two (22) factors has average index between 3.50 to 4.5 rating scale, whereas only 2 factors were have average index between 2.00 to 3.49 rating scale. This means

71 that most of the respondents have fairly high degree of consideration of most of the factors discussed.

Besides, this study has also identified the importance of these factors that affect the preparation of better construction work schedule. The factors which were very important were complexity of project, type of project, size of project and nature of project under the project specific factors.

Complexity of project is important as the activities and procedures involved will need a different approach from conventional. A more complex the construction project, the more complex the construction project, the greater the complication in preparing the construction work schedule. Besides, the type of project must be

determined first whether it is a commercial building, housing estates, schools or others. Each building project requires different construction work schedule. Size and nature of project should be taken into consideration seriously before preparing the construction schedule. Large construction projects, such as an office building or industrial complex, are often too complicated. These projects are divided into many segments such as site preparation, landscaping and the building construction which require schedulers to determine the best way to get materials to the building site and the most cost-effective plan and schedule for completing the project. all required construction site activities are divided into logical steps, budgeting the time required to meet established deadlines which will require sophisticated estimating and scheduling techniques and use of computers with specialized software.

On the other hand, all the project management related factors was also important except for human resource training. The factor, identification of the critical activities, coordination with other team members, understanding responsibilities of team members, technical capability and commitment of all parties were very important. Every activities involved in the whole construction process should be carefully listed and planned systematically to avoid missing tasks and delay. This is also to smooth the construction process with a clear direction of process to follow. Every members participating in a construction project should keep a god relationship between each other in order to ensure that works carry out is according to plan. Without good relationship, problems may arise and team members, authority to make

72 decisions, leadership quality difficult to solve jeopardizing the work and causing the project to be in chaos.

Nevertheless, the other project management related factors which were the ability to delegate authority to team members, authority to make decisions, leadership quality, technical capability, lack of understanding of operating procedures, inadequate project formulation in the beginning, uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how, monitoring and feedback by client, ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques, reluctance in timely decision, mismatch in capabilities of client and architect, availability of resources, reluctance in timely decision, conflicts among team members, project completion date specified but not yet planned, negative attitude, aggressive competition at tender stage, and tendency to pass on the blame to others are quite important. Thus, the construction team members should always pay attention to these factors to prepare a good construction work schedule so that construction work can be carried out smoothly and effectively.

Factors with the lowest average index were human resource training and political environment. The construction players believed that human resource training affect the preparation of construction work schedule less. However, it can educate team members to learn more on managing human and projects which improve productivity.

Furthermore, working condition related factors were also very important. The scope and nature of work was considered as very important because the scope and nature of work will be the base for preparing the construction work schedule. Inaccurate scope and nature of work will result in misleading deceptive or false statement or even claims in the construction projects.

External environment related factors were fairly important affecting in the preparation of construction work schedule. These factors refer to economic

environment, technological environment, industrial relation environment, social environment and physical environment. These factors were inter-related to all the other factors mentioned above. Economic environment seem to be important due to the
importance of the country economic situation.

73 Methods of improvement in preparing construction work schedule were also identified in order to help the project team members produce a more effective and good construction work schedule. Any improvement methods will help in the

preparation but only a few will drastically enhance the development of the construction work schedule namely project team leaders should keep good relationship with all project participants, continuous and proper planning before construction so that resources and time were sufficient and give prompt feedback/action when any matter arises.

4.8

Summary

Based on the survey done above, it can clearly be seen that there were some factors that were in theory which might not be as important as everyone thinks. However, when it comes to practical, it plays such an important role in determining the success of a project. This can be seen from the responses given by the respondents. Quantitative and qualitative judgements were employed in data analysis. Statistics were used to analyze the background of the respondents and Likert scaling system was used to analyze the factors that were presented in the questionnaire form.

According to the result of the analysis, the factors vary from one situation to another. The analysis indicated that thirty-five (35) possible factors that should be considered in preparation of consruction work schedule were divided into four (4) catagories namely, project specific factors, projectmanagemtn, working condition and external environment. The factors listed have achieved the average index ranging from 3.07 to 4.73 rating scale. Ten (11) factors have scale from 4.50 to 5.00 average index as very high degree of consideration. However, most of the factors, twety-one (22) have average index between 3.50 to 4.50 rating scale The remaining factors which is only two (2) have average index between 2.00 to 3.5 rating scale. This shows that most of the factors agreed by the respondents to be considered in preparing better construction work schedule.

74 The most critical factors with the highest average index overall would be the complexity of the project and identifying critical factors with average index of 4.73 and type of project with average index of 4.70 rating scale respectively. Generally, project specific factors is considerably most important when preparing construction work schedule. Then, it is followed by the project management and working condition factors which is also quite significant. In fact, from the study it was revealed that the external environment factors were less vital compared to the other factors in this matter.

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1

Introduction

This chapter concludes the study by the discussion of the results of the data analysis done on Chapter 4 on data analysis and findings. This study basically aimed to reveal the main factors that normally being considered in the preparation of the construction work schedule. From the extensive literature review, those factors are discussed with a sound knowledge of the factors in various angles were achieved.

5.2

Conclusion

As a conclusion to the study, the objectives of the study and findings will be reviewed as a resolution of the objectives. There were three (3) objectives posted in this study and further details on the individual findings and an overall outcome as the general conclusion to summarize the entire study.

76 Objective 1: To investigate the factors affecting the preparation of a better construction work schedule.

Table 5.1 below showed the summary of the 33 factors which affects the preparation of construction work schedule in the construction industry according to category.

Table 5.1: Factors Affecting the Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Factors Affecting the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule Complexity of Project Type of Project Size of Project Nature of Project Identifying critical activities Coordination with other team members Understanding responsibilities of team members Commitment of all parties Ability to delegate authority to team members Authority to make decisions Leadership quality Technical capability Lack of understanding of operating procedures Inadequate project formulation in the beginning Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how Monitoring and feedback by client Ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques Reluctance in timely decision Mismatch in capabilities of client and architect Availability f resources Reluctance in timely decision Conflicts among team members Project completion date specified but not yet planned Negative attitude Aggressive competition at tender stage Tendency to pass on the blame to others Human resource training Scope and nature of work Climatic condition at site Economic Environment Factors Category Project Specific Factors Project Specific Factors Project Specific Factors Project Specific Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Working Condition Factors Working Condition Factors External Environment Factors

77 Table 5.1: Factors Affecting the Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule (Contd)
No 31 32 33 34 35 Factors Affecting the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule Technological Environment Industrial Relation Environment Social Environment Physical Environment Political Environment Factors Category External Environment Factors External Environment Factors External Environment Factors External Environment Factors External Environment Factors

Objective 2: To establish the severity of these factors.

Table 5.2showed the severity of the factors affecting the preparation of construction work schedule in terms of average index from the highest to the lowest index.

Table 5.2: Severity of Factors Affecting Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Factors Affecting the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule Complexity of Project Identifying critical activities Type of Project Coordination with other team members Scope and nature of work Size of Project Understanding responsibilities of team members Technical capability Commitment of all parties Nature of Project Climatic condition at site Ability to delegate authority to team members Authority to make decisions Leadership quality Lack of understanding of operating procedures Inadequate project formulation in the beginning Economic Environment Average Index 4.73 4.73 4.70 4.67 4.60 4.57 4.57 4.53 4.53 4.50 4.50 4.43 4.40 4.37 4.33 4.30 4.27 Factors Category Project Specific Factors Project Management Factors Project Specific Factors Project Management Factors Working Condition Factors Project Specific Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Specific Factors Working Condition Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors External Environment Factors

78 Table 5.2: Severity of Factors Affecting Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule (Contd)
No 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Factors Affecting the Preparation of Construction Work Schedule Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how Monitoring and feedback by client Ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques Technological Environment Mismatch in capabilities of client and architect Availability of resources Reluctance in timely decision Reluctance in timely decision Conflicts among team members Project completion date specified but not yet planned Industrial Relation Environment Social Environment Negative attitude Aggressive competition at tender stage Tendency to pass on the blame to others Physical Environment Human resource training Political Environment Average Index 4.23 4.20 4.17 4.17 4.13 4.10 4.10 4.10 4.00 3.93 3.83 3.77 3.77 3.73 3.67 3.53 3.40 3.07 Factors Category Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors External Environment Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors External Environment Factors External Environment Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors Project Management Factors External Environment Factors Project Management Factors External Environment Factors

Objective 3: To identify the methods of improvement in preparing better construction work schedule.

In order to improve and prepare better and good construction work schedule, some recommendations are listed below as a guideline for the project team members:

1. Project team leaders should keep good relationship with all project participants. 2. Continuous and proper planning before construction, so that resources and time are sufficient. 3. Give prompt feedback/action when any matter arises. 4. Project team leaders should keep good relationship with all project participants.

79 5. Contractor should manage his financial resources and plan cash flow. 6. Learn more on managing human, because with good skill on human management and good motivating skill, motivated workers could improve productivity 7. Material supply should be readily preserved to avoid insufficient or depleted resources. 8. Upgrade communication system used. Use more technology when giving information for efficiency and more effectiveness such as email, PDA, and GPRS. It is better to give information in written form rather than verbal instruction or information.

5.4

Recommendation for Future Study

Another study can be done for other specific type of projects, such as housing projects, utility projects, highway projects, dam construction projects, etc. Detail studies can be done to evaluate the effectiveness of the construction work schedule on the particular project in the construction industry.

In fact, the limitation regarding this study was that study was done at the respondents own point of view. Thus, a case study can be employ to study on various types of projects to determine the influence of these factors on the scheduling works of these projects.

80 5.5 Summary

The objectives of this study were achieved by investigation of the important factors affecting the preparation of better construction work schedule of a construction project. The three most critical factors affecting in the preparation of construction work schedule identified were complexity of the project, identifying critical factors and type of project. In fact, project specific factors was considerably most important affecting in the preparation of construction work schedule followed by the project management and working condition factors. However, external environment factors are less vital. Recommendations on the improvement of the problem faced were also discussed after the analysis of the findings was done. More effective and good construction work schedule can be produced if project team players consider the methods of improvements identified in this study seriously in their construction work.

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

81

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abd. Majid, M.Z., and Mc Caffer, R. (1997). Assessment of Work Performance of Maintenance Contractors in Saudi Arabia Journal of Management in Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 17 No. 1:91

Ballard Glenn. (1997). Lean construction and EPC performance improvement. Luis Alarcon: Lean Construction.

Callixtus Tamin. (2005). Factors Affecting the S Curve in Determining Project Completion. UTM.

Che Wan Fadhil Che Wan Putra. (2001). Basic Review of Construction Work Scheduling Approaches. Faculty of Civil Engineering. UTM.

Chua D.K.H., Kog Y.C. and Loh P.K. (1999). Critical Success Factors for Different Proect Objectives. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, May/June.

Claugh RH, Sears GA, Sears SK. (2000). Construction project management. 4th ed. Walker A. Project management in construction. 3rd ed. Blackwell Science; 1996.

CMAA. (2005). Construction Management Association of America: What does a Construction Manager really do? Retrieved December 6, 2005.

http://cmaanet.org/job_analysis.php

Committees of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACEI) and the Project Management Institute College of Scheduling (PMICoS). 2005. Approach. http://www.constructionschedule.net/

82

Frank J, P.E. (2004). Construction Scheduling 101: Characteristic of a Good Construction Schedule. Article 3 of 4. Pinnacleone. The conrnerstone of confidence. http://www.pinnacleone.com/assets/files/PinnacleOne_Characteristics _Good_Construction_Schedule.pdf

Glavinich, T. E. (2004). Construction Planning and Scheduling, 2nd Edition. Arlington, VA, Associated General Contractors of America.

Glenwright E. (2008). Contemporary Aspects of Critical-Path Planning and Scheduling. Part1. PM World Today. Volume X. Issue

III. http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/2008/PDFs/Glenwright-3-08.pdf

Harban Singh, K.S. (2004). Work Programme - A Contractual Perspective. Buletin Ingenieur Volume 21.

Hendrickson C. (1998). Project Management for Construction. First Edition. Prentice Hall.

Iyer K.C. and Jha K. N. (2006). Critical Factors Affecting Schedule Performance: Evidence from Indian Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, August.

Kiiras J. Project Management in Chaos. No. 2, 2001.

Mohamad Ibrahim Mohamad, Rosli Mohamad Zin and Donald Chan B. T. (2006). Guidelines for the Preparation and Submission of Work Schedule for Construction Project. Faculty of Civil Engineering, UTM. Malaysian Journal of Civil Engineering, 20 (2). pp. 145-159.

Tatiana Rina Puspasari. (2005). Factors Causing the Poor Performance of Construction

83

Project. UTM.

Twomey M. (2006). Keeping Construction on Schedule. http://www.areadevelopment.com/assetManagement/june06/constructionProjects. shtml

USDL (2005). United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction Managers. Retrieved December 6, 2005.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos005.htm

Wickwire Jon M., Jones Allen M., Wickwire Esq, Driscoll Thomas J., Hurlbut Stephen B. (2002). Construction Scheduling: Preparation, Liability, and Claims. Edition 2. Aspen Publishers Online.

Willis E. M. (1986). Scheduling Construction Projects. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. United States of America.

William C. Last, Jr. 2009. The Use of a Construction Schedule to Analyze a Delay. http://www.lhfconstructlaw.com/CM/Articles/Articles104.asp

APPENDIX

APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FORM

84

APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FORM

Section A: Respondents Background (Please and answer in given spaces)

1. Name

_______________________________________

2. Highest Qualification :

_______________________________________

3. Working experience in the construction Industry less than 2 years 2 to 3 years 4 to 5 years 6 to 7 years more than 8 years

4. Current Position

_______________________________________

5. Contact No.

_______________________________________

6. Companys Name

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

7. Companys Address :

_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________

8. Companys Stamp:

85

SECTION B: Factors Affecting in the Preparation of Better Construction Work Schedule This section aims to evaluate the critical factors contributed to the preparation of better construction work schedule. Please use the scale below to rate the degree of consent of the following statement based on your experience. (Please and answer in given spaces)

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree Disagree

Strongly

A. Project Specific Factors 1. Type of project 2. Nature of Project 3. Complexity of Project 4. Size of Project

B. Project Management 1. Coordination with other team members 2. Leadership quality 3. Technical capability 4. Authority to make decisions 5. Ability to delegate authority to team members 6. Understanding responsibilities of team Members 7. Commitment of all parties 8. Backing up plan 9. Identifying critical activities 10. Availability of resources 11. Human resource training 12. Monitoring and feedback by client

86

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

13. Project completion date specified but not yet planned 14. Mismatch in capabilities of client and architect 15. Tendency to pass on the blame to others 16. Conflicts among team members 17. Ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques 18. Reluctance in timely decision 19. Lack of understanding of operating procedures 20. Inadequate project formulation in the beginning 21. Negative attitude 22. Aggressive competition at tender stage 23. Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how

C. Working Condition 1. Scope and nature of Work 3. Climatic condition at site

D. External Environment 1. Economic Environment 2. Social Environment 3. Political Environment 4. Physical Environment 5. Industrial Relation Environment

87

6. Technological advancement

Besides the factors mentioned above, is there any other factors which may contribute to the poor preparation of construction work schedule? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

88

SECTION C: Improvement Methods in Preparing Better Construction Work Schedule This section aims to identify improvement methods in preparing better construction work schedule. Please thick () Yes / No for the methods which can help improve preparation of better construction work schedule.

Yes 1. Project team leaders should keep good relationship with all project participants.

No

2. Learn more on managing human, because with good skill on human management and good motivating skill, motivated workers could improve productivity .

3. Project team members must be committed to their responsibilities.

4. Contractor should manage his financial resources and plan cash flow.

5. Continuous and proper planning before construction, so that resources and time are sufficient.

6. Material supply should be readily preserved to avoid insufficient or depleted resources.

89

Yes 7. Upgrade communication system used. Use more technology when giving information for efficiency and more effectiveness such as email, PDA, and GPRS. It is better to give information in written form rather than verbal instruction or information. 8. Give prompt feedback/action when any matter arises.

No

Is there any other solutions to which can be used to improve the preparation of the construction work schedule? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

End of Questionnaire Your Kind Co-Operation is Highly Appreciated. Thank You.