EDITORIAL
The vision for this Journal was borne out of the need for publication of high-quality research papers on innovation and cost management. This comes at a time when myriads of journals have become a dump site for falsified, misleading and arbitrarily researched projects. This brings a need for a journal driven by scientific competency, editorial integrity and ethical rigor- JCICM prides itself in filling this gap. With cities becoming mega and smart, infrastructures are facing increasing needs to innovate and transform in an era of volatility and disruption. JCICM is committed to dissecting, discussing and disseminating research outcomes that can inform strategic policies, business decisions and research directions, in the age long tradition of academic writing with flavour of local and global value.
Famakin, Oshodi and Ibironke have carried out a study into the Performance of Quantity Surveying Firms. Strategic Learning Assessment Map (Slam) Framework is utilized to assess the knowledge stock-learning-flow-performance (KS-LF-P) in quantity surveying firms. The authors collected data from quantity surveyors through a firm wide Cross sectional survey. The SLAM model was tested using exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. A strong positive relationship between knowledge stocks, learning flows and the performance of quantity surveying firms was indicated. Also, it was discovered that the level of individual performance in an organization is influenced by the feed forward learning flow which ultimately shows that performance of Quantity surveyors at organizational level is strongly tied to provision of learning strategies to improve their knowledge base, skill sets and competencies.
Leadership, team capability, firm structure and strategy as parameters of multi-cultural team management in small and medium-sized construction firms are largely underdeveloped areas in the body of knowledge. Zakariyyah, Dada, Ijaola, Ameh and Olaniyan observed that the top dimensions of leadership capability, organizational structure and strategy and team capability are creativity in designs/construction processes; periodic site meeting to monitor and review performances and clear roles and responsibilities respectively. A convenience sampling technique through field survey was carried out with the aid of questionnaires to test the Multi-Cultural Team Management parameters. With the aid of descriptive and inferential statistics, they established that multi-cultural team management could be better improved if indigenous construction firms work on having good leadership that can identify the different parameters and dimensions to project and organizational management and devise means of instituting, reviewing and maintaining such to the advantage of the firm.
Onukwube and Oyewo contend that Site management is a key occupational category in the construction industry. In a study of predominant performance criteria and its influence on time performance, they conducted a simple random survey of 78 respondents to identify performance measure of construction site managers. It was revealed that, Contract Managers or Owners of firms scored construction site managers averagely as regards their performance. The study therefore proposed planned training to improve productivity, communication skills, work ethics and team building of construction site managers.
Total Quality Management has been suggested as a strategy to solve performance problems in the construction industry. Bello, Zakariyyah, and Soyingbe critically assesses the understanding of this novel concept for proper implementation by identifying factors pivotal to defining quality, assessing construction stakeholders’ perception of quality as culture and the evaluation of prevalent barriers to quality culture implementation for the purpose of improved quality performance. A survey of forty-one construction stakeholders comprising of clients, consultants and contractors were selected using purposive sampling to test their underlying quality culture. The study discovered that quality culture criteria involve conformity to specification used on a project, beating client’s expectations and elimination of defects in the product and process. Also, a lack of standardisation in processes and arbitral solutions to issues rather than a holistic solution could serve as a constraint to implementation of the total quality management system. Bello, Zakariyyah and Soyingbe concluded that culture must be imbibed into the DNA of a firm’s policy and process for it to be functional and effective; it must not just be on paper but diligently executed and consistently monitored.
Public Procurement is essential as it is a route to provision of developmental infrastructure which is a vital organ in developing the economies of developing countries such as Nigeria. Nigeria’s failing projects and high abandon rate has been blamed on the flawed procurement system- examining the quality and frequency of use of prequalification criteria on public procurement projects is a step in solving a National dilemma. Ajayi, executes this undertaking with a survey of 373 construction professionals particularly in the public procurement sector and discovered that the prequalification criteria vital to selection of competent contractors are; current fixed asset, professional and technical expertise, past project experience, Health and Safety regulation and work currently executed by the contractor.
Prefabrication has been touted as the required solution to assuaging the dearth of housing facilities and help reduce overcrowding on current housing facilities in Nigeria. Oloto, Adebayo and Iweka give an overview of the state of the art of Prefabrication in Nigeria. From their systematic literature review of recent publication on Prefabrication, they established that financial factors, training availability, government incentive and leadership, managerial and expertise issues could serve as inhibitors to the adoption of prefabrication or modular housing units. However, a concerted effort between the private sector and a sincere public sector leadership would drive the process and enable a rapid adoption of the novel building concept.
Health and Safety is an ever-important discourse in construction as it concerns human wellness which is vital to human performance and sustainability. The recent trend in building collapse during construction calls for a urgent overview of health and safety insurance policies in the Nigerian construction industry. Ameh and Farinde noted that despite availability of regulations and laws on site safety and health of workers, fatalities and injuries remain unabated. Ameh and Farinde thereby investigate contractor’s compliance with available health and safety regulations. They discovered that there is a significant difference in compliance with health and safety regulations by multinational/foreign firms, and indigenous firms. They consequently recommended enforcement of safety regulations by the government as that is crucial to enabling the available law. Continuous aggressive awareness campaign is also suggested to ensure clients and contractors alike understand health and safety requirements for workers.
Akinsiku and Oyediran opined that the construction business environment holds constraint to healthy competition against the Nigerian Indigenous contractors. They maintained that the majority of high net worth projects in the country are executed by foreign contractors who form only 5% of the contractors in the country. The study in investigating the causes of inability of Nigerian Indigenous Construction Contractors to undertake massive construction projects discovered that factors such as; poor monitoring, controlling and funding challenges, bankruptcy and cost overruns, technical issues, site organization and layout, and materials and construction methods are debilitating factors beating down the competitiveness of Nigerian contractor as against their counterparts from foreign nations.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow is critical in developing and diversifying the Nigerian economy, which is dependent on the state of infrastructure within the country. Babalola and Fayomi investigated the influence of macroeconomic variables on FDI inflows in the Nigerian construction sector. An ex-post facto survey using secondary data based on annual time series data of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was used for the study. It was discovered that the exchange rate has a positive but significant impact on FDI inflows and that FDI inflows influence the construction sector in Nigeria. Invariably, improving the infrastructure base of the country is vital in attracting FDI inflows which is also imperative in boosting the construction industry’s opportunity to meet infrastructure deficit.
Saka and Ogunsemi examined the causal relationship between the Nigerian Construction Sector (NCS) output and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) using Nigerian Time Series Data (TSD) from 1970 through 2013. Vector error correction Model (VECM) framework was utilized in carrying out the empirical investigation and results showed that NCS positively causes GFCF and GDP growth which invariably implies that Nigeria can accelerate its GFCF and GDP growth by increasing investment in NCS.
