M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / Labour productivity in South Africa is at its lowest in 46 years, according to Naicker. South Africa, when compared to its competitors in the emerging market, is less efficient and labour productivity is one of the lowest in the developing world; this does not bode well for the economy and the wellbeing of its citizens. ProductivitySA stated that productivity has an impact on several aspects of a country such as the economy and the society in general and is seen as “a critical driver of economic growth, employment, poverty reduction, and competitiveness” The Civil Construction Industry contributes 3.5% to the GDP of South Africa and it is faced with challenges such as an environment that is exceedingly competitive and organizations in the civil industry experience financial difficulties such as low profit margins. Furthermore, the industry is labour intensive and employs a significant number of unskilled and semi-skilled labour from the local community which is located within the vicinity of the project. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to identify the factors that have an impact on the productivity of the civil construction industry of South Africa. A secondary aim is to utilize the factors, which have been identified, to create a productivity management framework with a view to improve construction productivity as part of the normal project management system. An industry specific survey was conducted, in the form of a questionnaire, to ascertain the perceptions of industry professionals regarding factors that have an impact on productivity. A literature study was done to create a benchmark which was used to compare the findings of the questionnaire. The top ranked factors were then used as the foundation of the productivity management framework.

M.Ing.(Engineering Management) / Delays are a major problem faced by construction companies. The majority of the leading delays factors found from reviewing other studies were avoidable delay factors. The avoidable delay factors are factors caused only by the contractor. The reviewed studies gave recommendations for addressing the delay factors; however this study found that projects nevertheless still failing in South African construction industry and other countries even after the various studies made recommendations on how to avoid the delay factors. The objectives of this study were to establish the top ten avoidable delay factors and their mitigation measures in various countries and also to establish which of the proposed mitigation measures for each of the top ten avoidable delay factors were believed to be the answer in South African construction industry. A questionnaire was developed with questions that will probe the respondents to select the mitigation measures that will address each of the ten avoidable delay factors. The option answers were specifically designed to be close-ended. The size of the sample required was 80 and this study managed to get 82 responses. The survey was launched using SurveyMonkey which is an online survey platform. The data received was analysed for reliability and validity. The reliability was determined using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and was applied using the testretest approach. All questions had a coefficient greater than 0.6 which meant that the responses were reliable (strong). The validity was established using face validity. The responses were analysed to establish which mitigation measures have more frequency of selection. Some of the questions had some mitigation measures receiving more than 80% of the selection and some questions had some mitigation measures getting almost the same percentage selection. Most (60%) of the provinces of South Africa agreed on which mitigation measure must be used for addressing the avoidable delay factors.

The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries in the world, with many workplace fatalities every day. The existence of legislation that governs Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is an intervention to ensure that all governments, employers and employees play their part in establishing and implementing policies that will help secure healthy and safe working environments. The study is qualitative and with the help of an interview guide, semistructured interviews were used to collect the data. The respondents were selected using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Ten managers from ten (five small, five large) construction firms, two employees from each firm, and the OHS inspector from the Department of Labour in Grahamstown were interviewed. Having explored management’s practices, communication methods, training and distribution of information, employee representation and participation, and industrial relations, several conclusions were reached. During the study it was found that there are a number of obstacles that are hampering effective OHS in the construction industry. Some of these include; management’s lack of commitment to a participatory approach in OHS decision-making, limited resources to invest adequately in OHS, and the lack of sufficient trade union involvement. In addition, we know very little about OHS in the construction industry, and the mere existence of OHS legislation does not help reduce the risks associated with construction work, especially when there is a shortage of skilled personnel to enforce the legislation and regulations.

The civil engineering sector of the construction industry as a whole has been suffering from mental stress due to a lack of stress management interventions, rendering employees vulnerable to burnout, poor mental health, and subject to injury on site. The rationale of this study is to explore the prevalence of mental stress in the civil engineering sector of the construction industry, and the potential causes of stress, vis-à-vis the effects it has on an individual. An empirical study based on a descriptive and analytical survey method was conducted among medium to large civil engineering contractors in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole (NMBM). The study adopted the use of questionnaires, and a review of the related literature to effectively summarise and describe the collected field data. The sample stratum included civil engineering site agents and foremen. The salient findings include: high job demands, low job control, and low job social support are contributors to stress; site agents and foremen long for more time spent with family and friends; site agents and foremen are exposed to various physical, organisational and socio-economic stressors; site agents and foremen are displaying coping strategies unsupportive of a healthy lifestyle; there is a lack of awareness of stress management in the civil engineering sector of the construction industry; the level of stress experienced by site agents and foremen is rated as a lesser extent; the prevalence of depression among site agents and foremen is rated as a lesser extent; site agents and foremen are at risk of injury due to feeling stressed, and site agents and foremen are exposed to a range of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to poor ergonomics, and possibly stress too. It can be concluded that stress negatively affects the civil engineering sector of the construction industry by, inter alia, increased employee absence, injuries and accidents, higher staff turnover, depression, and lower levels of production. Furthermore, stress may lead to eventual burnout, rendering an individual at a significantly higher risk of developing physical health complications. Recommendations include: organisations to address the problem of work-family imbalance, by providing more time off to spend with family and loved ones. v Organisations need to promote and implement internal coping strategies, to assist those who are facing strain to effectively deal with their stress. More support from line managers to employees should be provided, as this will increase their resources in terms of job support, job demand, and job control in their working environment. Also, organisations need to promote teambuilding activities and exercise among their employees. Lastly, organisational policy and government legislation need to be revised in the long term, to provide for individual mental wellbeing, and reduced occupational stress.

The research thesis examines the lack of sustainability of emerging contractors at Nxuba and Nkonkobe local municipalities in the Eastern Cape. SMMEs and emerging contractors are viewed as necessary to improve economic, social and environmental development. For the developmental vision to be achieved, the emerging contractors have to be sustainable businesses. The delivery of sustainable services requires the presence and utilisation of sustainable emerging contractors. The purpose of the study is to conduct an in-depth investigation on the lack of sustainability of emerging contractors at the local municipal level. The study will further establish whether there is a link between lack of efficiency and effectiveness and then provide possible recommendations to the problem. The survey was conducted among emerging contractors to determine from them what their experiences were with sustainability issues including the emerging contractor development programs. The survey also focused on the amount of opportunities given to them by the local government sphere and the effect of their lack of access to finance. It is envisaged that the study will assist emerging contractors to address sustainability of their businesses. Both government and private sector clients are set to benefit from an improved set of emerging contractors. Improvements are expected in the social, economic and environmental spheres. The majority of emerging contractors appear to have failed to secure sustainable work and as such have not achieved business growth in the past 3 years. The study reveals that local government clients have contributed with late payments to the poor rating of the emerging contractors on creditability with clients, suppliers and financiers.

The procurement process, from the demand formulation to the final delivery of a public building to the end-user, is defined by the government in terms of procedures and policies to be followed, which is based to be ineffective and inefficient where the process as a whole from a client-value perpective, is flawed. Presently, the National Department of Public Works(NDPW) as a governmental administration is deemed to be a controlling institution and cost centre rather than a service provider. This mind-set is reflected by the inability of government project implementing agencies such as the NDPW to deliver projects successfully in terms of cost, time, and quality whilst failing to meet the government's socio economic objectives to create employment opportunities, stimulate economic growth, and transfer skills to the previously disadvantaged through black economic empowerment (BEE) initiatives. Client satisfaction has widely been recognised by researchers as one of the key challenges for quality improvement in the construction industry. It is a vital factor in the development and management of the construction process, as well in the creation of efficient organisation-client relationship. In addition, client satisfaction is deemed to be a catalyst for client retention which is a success strategy for any organisation. This thesis is primarily concerned with project performance and service delivery by the NDPW as a government project implementing agency that involves an integrated approach that considers the entire supply chain of a construction project. The success or failure of a project is is not the effect of a single variable, or factor, but a set of variables interacting with each other to produce the final result. An extensive review of related literature that entails the analysis of publications related to the projectimplementation and construction project management realm was deemed necessary to formulate a clear understanding of the complexities of implementing projjects within the public sector. The use of systems thinking as the nucleus of the multi-methodological approach to this research was to assist in ascertaining the primary causes of the problem situation and to clarify the process of project implementation as a sub-system within the greater system of the construction industry. The success of projects depends as much on the client as it does on the implementing agencies, project managers (PMs), consultants, contractors and the suppliers of materials.

Purpose of this treatise: The aim of this research is to determine, if the skilled labour shortage has had any impact on how construction projects are executed. If there is an impact the study aims to determine the nature and extent of the problem. Design/methodology/approach: A review of related literature was conducted, mainly to ensure that existing research is not replicated, in order to generate new ideas. The quantitative research approach was applied for this research. The questionnaire was designed so that scores can be easily summed in order to obtain an overall measure of the attitudes and opinions of the respondents. Findings: The results revealed that the skilled labour shortage has a negative effect on how construction projects are executed. The results further revealed that the biggest concern amongst employers and management of construction companies was the negative impact the shortage of skilled labour has on the levels of workmanship. Research limitations: The sample (construction companies) is mostly situated in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Practical implications: The research is of importance to managers and supervisors of construction companies of all sizes. The findings of this study will assist in ensuring that projects are efficiently managed irrespective of the current skills crisis in the construction industry.

The importance of technology in construction partnering agreements has been recognised as a vital part of integrated project delivery (IPD) philosophy. Building information modelling (BIM) is increasingly being used by consultants in South Africa during the design phase of construction projects. However, its use is generally not aimed at an integrated project delivery approach, but rather as a tool to generate documentation, as BIM is generally more efficient than traditional computer aided design (CAD) software. For the full benefits of BIM to be realised, a greater degree of acculturation is required between construction project organisations (CPOs). The current cultures of CPOs are separationist in nature and tend to inhibit acculturation within the industry. BIM provides a central source of information that can improve communications between CPOs and foster a collaborative culture. The research examines IPD and BIM in the South African context and investigates how BIM can contribute to IPD. A survey was conducted among registered contractors from the three top grades and architecture practices from two regions in South Africa. The survey was placed in context by a case study that analysed the use of BIM and the resulting communication network seen in a public works project using typical procurement methods. The associated problems with the current accepted paradigm are illuminated by the research.

Absenteeism places huge financial burdens on organisations and has a detrimental effect on productivity. Aware of the direct and indirect costs associated with absenteeism, management must determine what factors are responsible for the absenteeism and how these factors can be rectified in order to reduce the rate of employee absenteeism in the organisation. The study’s main aims were firstly to determine which key factors are responsible for employees being absent from work and secondly, how they can be rectified in order to reduce absenteeism. From the data that was obtained from the literature study stress, substance abuse, lack of job commitment and organisational factors account for some reasons given for absenteeism. Employee absenteeism may also be partly due to not enough emphasis being placed on career development, staff retention and salaries. Other causes of absenteeism include personal responsibilities, lack of motivation and low morale in the workplace. Only recently have managers become aware of the true impact which alcohol and substance abuse have on organisations. More productivity is lost through on-the-job absenteeism than due to any other single factor. On-the-job absenteeism is difficult to define and very difficult to identify. Such absenteeism includes the presence of employees at work while they are sick but incapable of performing to their true capabilities – this often occurring on Mondays or Fridays or the day after payday. With current staff retention programs, mergers and joint ventures, organisations now demand the same level of production with fewer employees. This has given rise to an increase in the level of stress employees experience, which led to stress becoming a key factor responsible for absenteeism. When managing absenteeism the implementation of a proper measurement system is essential. This will enable the company to determine the extent of their absenteeism. An evaluation and comparison of these statistics over a period of time will also shed light on the nature of the absenteeism. These will result in the proactive handling of a company’s absenteeism. This is also the first step away from the acceptance of absenteeism and subsequently the nurturing of an absence culture. Employers can take a number of steps to reduce absenteeism, such as giving responsibility for absence management to senior or human resource managers rather than line managers, introducing return to work interviews, introducing discipline procedures and others. The great majority of absence management solutions completely overlook organisational factors, instead focusing on individual, claim processing and health-related factors in the quest to reduce lost productive days. Absence management programs should focus on organisational (not individual) drivers of absence to encourage a present and committed workforce. Absenteeism will never be eradicated, but through careful management organisations can reduce the absentee rate and the effect it has on the organization.

The South African construction industry plays an important role in the economy and overall development of the country, with respect to its total fiscal contribution and the total number of people who are employed. In addition, it is a major contributor to infrastructure development. However, the human resource base within this industry is confronted with a plethora of challenges that are inherent to the construction industry. These manifest themselves in stressful working conditions and long working hours, labour intensive jobs, reduced job security due to job losses and short-term projects, and the feeble health and safety (H&S) standards. Together with a variety of socio-economic and political issues, these challenges form a perceived and broad organisational culture of this industry, which impacts on the industry‟s productivity. As construction management efforts in the development of the human resources base increase, the industry recognises that work-life balance is an important and critical issue in the 21st century. Construction management is a discipline that embodies two interdependent dimensions; the management of the business of construction and the management of projects. Of the latter, the key principles thereof are, as part of a management strategy, planning, organizing, leading, controlling and coordinating projects. To achieve these strategic components, an effective human resource base is required. Work-life balance is therefore a management issue and organizational culture sets a backdrop from which it can be understood. This study focused on the status of the organisational culture of the production establishments that form part of the construction industry and the manner in which it manifests on the work-life balance of the workers. Furthermore, the correlation between work-life balance and individual work performance was examined. An exploratory research approach was adopted and the research technique followed an interview protocol. The main findings demonstrate that the South African construction industry is predominantly a clan culture with minor characteristics of the hierarchy, adhocracy and market cultures. Furthermore, work-life balance is difficult to attain and it influences individual work performance. The main conclusion is that organizational culture in construction firms is imbalanced. Thus, the main recommendation is that the industry adopts a balanced organizational culture and modern human resource practices.