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Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-144).

This study investigates the behavior of contractors when submitting bids under different institutional arrangements. Construction projects under the private and public sectors in Hong Kong operate under two distinct contractual and bidding arrangements giving different degrees of risk and uncertainty to the contractors. First, private sector projects in Hong Kong invariably adopt conditions of contracts that shift more risk to the contractor. A typical example is private sector projects do not normally allow fluctuation adjustments, thereby shifting the risks of future increase in prices of construction resources to the contractor. Public sector construction projects include fluctuation clauses for projects of duration over 21 months (Later extended to all contracts via Circular DEVB(PS)107/3 dated 18 July 2008). Second, it is common practice for private sector clients to negotiate with the contractors after they have submitted their bids. Although in some cases, private sector clients may also simply accept the lowest tender, bidders would normally anticipate that they are likely to negotiate with them after the bids are opened. This practice, however, is not allowed in public sector projects. For reasons of public accountability, Government tendering procedures do not allow changes to the bid price after the tenders have been submitted and the time for return lapsed (except for specifically approved cases). This requirement basically bars any price negotiation as in the case of private projects. We conjecture that these two differences in institutional arrangements have significant impact on bidders’ behavior, which would be characterized by the distribution and pattern of the submitted bid prices. Based on records of bid prices for 105 contracts tendered during the period 1997 and 2007, we found that public sector bids are more skewed to the left (or have a longer tail towards the left) than private sector bids, ceteris paribus. This means that low bids for public sector projects are more scattered than those of private sector projects. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that bidders attempt to hide their true bid prices by submitting higher bids when the client is not bound to accept the lowest tender. The empirical results also suggest that the bid-spread, as defined by the percentage difference between the lowest and second lowest bid, is higher when post tender negotiation is prohibited. Bidders would tend to submit more aggressive bids for public sector projects, knowing that they would not have a second chance to adjust their bid prices at a later stage. This suggests a higher probability of winner’s curse for public sector projects. For private sector projects that do not include fluctuation clauses, the bid-spread is also affected by the expected risk of future increase in the prices of construction resources. When such risk is high, bidders will become more cautious when submitting their bids and thus resulting in a lower bid-spread. The bid distributions for public sector project have thicker tails on both ends compared to those of private sector projects due to its prequalification system and the practice of acceptance of the lowest bid. The empirical evidence in this study confirms this. In addition, market conditions, number of bidders, contract size and the proportion of prime cost and provisional sum as a percentage of the contract sum are also important determining factors of biding behavior. The results of this study show that institutional arrangements matters in determining bidding behavior. Previous studies that attempt to estimate the distribution of bid prices for construction projects have largely ignored the importance of institutional arrangements, which may therefore lead to biased results. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of bidder’s behavior when bidding for construction projects under different institutional arrangements. The understanding will be useful in handling bidding exercises for new construction projects and the advancement of studies on bidding strategy models. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree Master of Technology (Construction Management) In the Faculty of Engineering 2014 / According to findings presented in literature, construction projects are restrained within budgeted cost. Hence, the operational system is challenged within prohibitive cost limits to deliver projects at a stipulated time and at a satisfactory quality. This has prompted the intention of establishing effective management of cost constraint on building project delivery in South Africa. Data for the main study were collected through observations, semi-structured and unstructured qualitative interviews and quantitative close-ended questionnaires administered to construction stakeholders working in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces, South Africa. Findings are that the following are factors that affect cost during building production process: additional works without contractual procedure, inadequate co-ordination of design phase and construction phase during production by project managers, financial mismanagement, frequent changes in design, cost of materials in the market, fluctuation of price of materials. Additional findings are proper monitoring and controlling at stages during production, procurement of competent contractors and subcontractors, involvement of experienced professionals in production, proper briefing by the client during production process, targeting quality during production, prompt decision taking during production, and the establishment of effective communication systems on site during production, frequent changes in building design by the client during production affect construction cost; frequent changes in building design during production cause rework; changes in building design during construction caused by errors and omissions detected affects quality of project delivered; and specification due to procurement of new materials during construction causes changes in building design, labour productivities, wrong planning for machine usage on site, late delivery of equipment during production and unanticipated increases in prices of building materials. Late delivery of materials also affects production process. Regular meetings on site will promote efficient productivities of human resources, team work on site during production, general progress reports on site during production, projects schedule/timetable for production and work programmes for site activities. The study concluded by recommending that proper adoption of these findings by the South African construction stakeholders during production processes will enhance delivery of building projects at reduced construction resources, at the standard of quality expected, at the time stipulated, at the budgeted cost specified, and to the satisfaction of the client. Interest will be achieved as illustrated under each objective of the research study. This research recommends further investigation of the effects of building material supply management during production processes in the South African construction industry.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Science in Construction Project Management

Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are an important sector of any construction economy. The need for efficient SMMEs is well documented and cannot be over-emphasised. SMMEs are vital in their contribution to employment creation and value reorientation. However, their in process operations are not well understood and have rarely been addressed. The aim of this research was therefore to establish a base level of understanding of the operational core-face of SMMEs in Malawi. The methodology used included an extensive literature review and field survey conducted on 52 SMMEs. The field survey used the questionnaire instrument and random sampling. The critical findings from the literature were that there are binding constraints in the operations of SMMEs. The field survey confirmed the issues raised in the literature and posited the operational challenges as lack of finance, training and business skills; limited skills in Construction Information Technology (IT), and prevalence of unethical conduct amongst some of the stakeholders. The findings make an invaluable contribution to the search for solutions to the problems faced by construction SMMEs in Malawi and provide insight for further research in institutional weaknesses and policy issues regarding in this part of the world. The implications of the findings are that unless the limitations named above are resolved, SMMEs in Malawi will continue to experience poor growth and competitiveness. The recommendations include the developing of training programmes in business management, introduction of sector specific financing programmes and the provision of an appropriate regulatory and legislative framework. By establishing the core issues affecting the operations of SMMEs in the Malawian construction industry, the research has contributed to the enhancement of the understanding of this elusive subject.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Tarek Mohamed Selim. / M.S.