Abstract:
The complexity of construction projects, as well as the diversity of stakeholders and
their interests in any particular project make disputes, discords and sometimes conflicts
(DDCs) in construction projects a regular occurrence in the construction industry. The
study seeks to explore DDCs in the construction industry in Ashanti Region with a view
to developing a framework of recommendations for minimising DDCs associated with
assembly project to improve project performance. The study adopted a quantitative
research approach involving the administration of survey questionnaires to a simple
random sample of 119 consultants and 201 contractors working with fifteen
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ashanti region. The
findings revealed seven critical factors influencing DDCs in relation to assembly
projects in the Ashanti Region namely; poor communication between the parties, type
of procurement method adopted, differences in views among stakeholders, adversarial
nature of contracts among others. Further findings of the study revealed six key
challenges to minimising DDCs associated with assembly projects in the study setting
were; irregular payments, conflicting instructions, incompetent contractors, lack of
proper communication channels and others. Also, the findings revealed that there can
be effective management of DDCs to improve project performance through certain
factors such as, employment of qualified personnel with specialized knowledge to
handle key positions, appropriate procurement methods, and effective
teamwork/teambuilding. Finally, the study recommends that, there should be carefully
planned and regular schedule of payments of the total sum of the project, the design
team should maintain as much as possible project drawings, specifications and
construction methods that are adequate and free from deficiencies.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, Faculty of TECHNICAL EDUCATION,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for award of the Master of Philosophy
(Construction Technology) degree.
DECEMBER, 2016