Browsing by Author "Dissanayake, PBG"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Analysis of Factors Contributing Civil Engineering Project Delays in Sri Lanka
(2016-01-05) Kesavan, M; Gobidan, NN; Dissanayake, PBG
A construction project is commonly acknowledged as a successful project when the aim of the project is achieved in terms of predetermined objectives of completing the project on time, within budget and to the required quality standard. Delay in the completion of a construction project can be a major problem for contractors, consultants as well as for clients. These delays lead to costly disputes and adverse relationships amongst project participants. Projects can be delayed due to large number of reasons. The reasons are related to various types of uncertainties associated with activities during the construction process or during the planning and design stages. Therefore a comprehensive survey was carried out to identify the critical factors that cause the delays in Sri Lankan construction projects. From in-depth literature studies, 52 causes of delay were identified. Questionnaire survey was carried out among 107 selected construction projects in Sri Lanka. The findings show that the delay in Sri Lankan construction projects is mostly originated by labour, followed by contractor and client, while external related causes are less important. This paper also explores and provides some recommendations to reduce the impact of delays on civil engineering projects in Sri Lanka.
item: Conference-Abstract
Application of lean concepts in the construction industry
Madushan, STK; Hathurusinghe, HDDC; Dissanayake, PBG
Sri Lanka is a developing country experiencing a huge construction boom. All construction use various types of resources and waste of resources occur at all construction sites. These wastes include not only material resources but also labour, equipment, time, space, etc. The basic idea of lean is to create more value for the customer with fewer resources. Lean construction projects are easier to manage, safer, complete sooner and cost less and the end product is of better quality. The aim of this study is to understand the level of awareness on lean concepts in the construction industry of Sri Lanka, identify the wastes and classify using lean concept, identify barriers and difficulties that may be encountered in the implementation of lean concepts and propose effective and efficient means of lean construction management techniques to be adopted by the Sri Lankan construction industry.
item: Conference-Full-text
Earned value management system as a project management Tool for major multi-disciplinary projects
(2013-11-14) Dissanayake, PBG
The Earned Value Management System (EVMS) is a useful management tool available for project managers to monitor and control major multi-disciplinary projects. EVMS measures project performance by comparing the amount of work planned against the amount of work actually carried out and the actual costs incurred. EVMS combines the work scope, schedule and the cost elements of a project and facilitates the integrated reporting of a project’s progress and the cost status. The earned value concept was first introduced by industrial engineers working in American factories over a century ago and this concept was used to manage the production cost of commercial industrial products. The basic concepts of earned value were adopted by the United States Air force in the early 1960s and later endorsed by the United States Department of Defence in all major system acquisitions. Earned Value Management is a technique that can be applied to the management of all infrastructure projects, in any industry, while employing any contracting approach. This paper summarizes the basic concepts and the theory of EVMS, briefly explains how EVMS can be implemented for a multi-disciplinary project, the challenges encountered during implementation and its benefits to a project as a project management tool.
item: Conference-Full-text
Planning & Mitigation Methods to Reduce the Project Delays in Sri Lankan Civil Engineering Construction Industries
(2016-01-06) Kesavan, M; Gobidan, NN; Dissanayake, PBG
A construction project is commonly acknowledged as a successful project when the aim of the project is achieved in terms of predetermined objectives of completing the project on time, within budget and to the required quality standard. Delay in the completion of a construction project can be a major problem for contractors, consultants as well as for clients. These delays lead to costly disputes and adverse relationships amongst project participants. Projects can be delayed due to large number of reasons. The reasons are related to various types of uncertainties associated with activities during the construction process or during the planning and design stages. Project delays in general are due to delays caused by the client, delays caused by the contractors/consultants and delays due to equipment/materials & environmental factors. The objective of this research was to identify the major causes of construction project delays in the construction industries in Sri Lanka and find out how planning and mitigation methods would minimize their impacts. This study was carried out through questionnaire surveys and interviews conducted within the construction industry professionals in Sri Lanka. It is expected that this study would identify project planning deficiencies in the construction industry and propose recommendations to rectify identified issues and thereby reduce project delays which would contribute towards sustainable construction.
item: Conference-Abstract
Preparation of extension of time (EOT) claims and delay analysis techniques used in the construction industry
Maduranga, JAM; Palamakumbura, APWMGM; Dissanayake, PBG
Delays are one of the most common issues faced by construction projects in Sri Lanka. Most of the cases are complex and difficult to analyse. Various delay analysis methods have been developed and used in the construction industry for the purpose of analysing delays, their effects and their consequences, but there is no standard method to analyse a delay claim. In this study, existing methods for assessing the effects of delaying events and factors contributing to extension of time claims were reviewed through an industry survey. Furthermore, delay analysis techniques were tested for a case study to identify their strength and weakness. This study has given a clear understanding on the applicability of the existing delay analysing techniques and the related disputes in extension of time claims that would help the construction industry.
item: Conference-Full-text
Site safety of Sri Lankan building construction industry
(2013-11-27) Ahamed, MSS; Nafeel, AFM; Rishath, AAM; Dissanayake, PBG
The negligence of safety leads to loss of productivity, accidents, poor health issues and several disadvantages to construction industry. Therefore this study focused on safety planning, precautions, regulations and adoption of safe construction practices in the building construction industry and clarifies the problems on site, which prevent the improvement of safety at site. Identifying the issues related to building construction site safety and propose measures to improve the site safety of the Sri Lankan building construction industry are the main objectives of this study. This study also reveals the level of awareness of personnel to the ordinances related to construction safety. The study was carried out through personal interviews, questionnaire surveys and discussions with industrialists and policy making bodies. The detailed questionnaire survey was conducted among the professionals in building construction industry. Relevant legislations, ordinances and required safety provisions were collected from various institutes and departments. A fair response to the surveys was received through meeting industrialists in person rather than postal and email questionnaires. The questionnaire survey answers were ranked in numerical order and interpreted using graphical and tabular outputs. This study was able to reveal the status of the site safety standards that exists in the building construction industry of Sri Lanka and propose recommendations to improve the safety of Sri Lankan building construction industry.
item: Conference-Full-text
Understanding and mitigating the effects of shortage of skilled labour in the construction industry of Sri Lanka
(2013-11-27) Praveen, R; Niththiyananthan, T; Kanarajan, S; Dissanayake, PBG
Skilled labourer is a key resource that has a direct impact on the success of any construction project. This study analyses the present situation of the construction industry in Sri Lanka with respect to skilled labourer by assessing the need to increase the number of skilled labourers and their skill level by identifying the causes and effects of the shortage of skilled labour. This paper summarises the results of a survey conducted in Sri Lanka and propose mitigation measures to rectify the problem. This is a timely and needful study in the present context of Sri Lanka with the expected rapid growth of the construction industry especially after the end of the civil war. The objectives of this study are to identify the causes for the shortage of skilled labour in the Sri Lankan construction industry, the resulting effects due to the shortage and to come up with effective mitigation measures. The research was conducted via two types of questionnaire surveys, namely; the individual surveys and the institutional surveys among contractors, consultants and clients represented by Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Technical Officers and other similar grades. A project wise analysis was carried out through the institutional questionnaire survey. To support the findings of this research, present salary scales of selected skilled labour types were compared with salary scales of similar overseas opportunities. Categories of skilled labour and professionals were based on International Standard of Classification of Occupations, Labour Market Information System (LMIS-1996) and past studies. In this research the “Significance Index” was used to rank causes and effects and the “Importance Index” was used to find out important mitigation measures. This study revealed that the most significant causal factor for skilled labour shortage is “inadequate number of trained personnel coming out from training institutions and joining with the labour market” and resulting effect is “time over-run” of construction project. This study also revealed that “Increasing the wages to minimize migration of skilled labour seeking foreign employment” as the most important mitigation measure to overcome this problem. According to the study, the current shortage for concrete workers and masons are 70% and 67% respectively.