Browsing by Author "Shandraseharan, A"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

item: Conference-Abstract
Accuracy of traditional contingency estimation in the construction industry
(2021-07) Jeyananthan, N; Shandraseharan, A; Kulatunga, U
Contingency amounts are allocated in the construction projects to deal with uncertainties arising during the projects. Contingency amounts are usually estimated traditionally by simply adding a percentage of the estimated contract amount. However, the traditional system of contingency estimation is heavily criticised as ineffective due to several reasons. Therefore, this research focuses on evaluating the level of accuracy of current contingency estimation techniques in the Sri Lankan context. This study adopted a mixed-method research approach. Empirical data were collected using expert interviews and questionnaire survey. Data collected from the expert interviews were analysed using manual content analysis. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the questionnaire survey data. Findings revealed that inexpensiveness is the highly motivating factor for the rigid usage of the traditional method to estimate contingency in the Sri Lankan context. Estimated contract amount, procurement method, payment method, and type of client were identified as highly influencing factors in contingency estimation. Finally, the hypothesis test of this study revealed that the traditional contingency estimation is ineffective. Since the traditional contingency estimation proved ineffective and highly inaccurate, experts in the industry should consider a flexible alternative approach in contingency estimation to improve the accuracy of the contingency amount.
item: Conference-Full-text
Enhance the disaster management process through social media
(2019) Shandraseharan, A; Kulatunga, U; Rathnasiri, P; Samarawickrama, S
Disasters endure the economic and human losses emphatically around the globe in each year. Impacts of disasters are expeditious in the last decade due to the insufficiency of existing traditional Disaster Management (DM) tools. Social media as an internet-based platform and it is used as a critical tool for effective communication during emergency situations. This proposed research is mainly considered on Facebook and Twitter in terms of social media. Because, during the literature review and the preliminary expert interview, it is identified that the use of Facebook and Twitter is very much higher in Sri Lankan context compared to other available social media. Social media discovered as a vital factor to enhance DM in all over the world. To refer, Social media demonstrated its value as a viable complement to Indonesia’s comprehensive disaster information management system for governments, by informing the public and creating public value through its communication speed, reach and information quality. However, the use of social media is not extensively explored in the Sri Lankan context. Hence, this research focuses on enhancing the natural DM in Sri Lanka and improve the quality of assistance provided to people related to natural DM through the use of social media. A comprehensive literature review has been carried out to investigate the concept of social media and its relationship with DM. The literature findings contributed to develop the conceptual model pertaining for the study which highlighted that social media can be used in almost all stages of DM to enhance the process. This conceptual model will be used to develop the framework representing the method of social media application for natural disaster management in Sri Lanka. The use of social media for DM has number of benefits such as real-time communication, low level of capital investment requirement, provides useful situational awareness, early warning and supports the psychological well-being of disaster victims. However, limitations such as violates social policies, affects the social customs, quality and veracity of information could be compromised, and monitoring of accuracy of information transmission is complex were also reviewed from the study.
item: Article-Full-text
Management Of Aggregate Base Course Wastage In Road Construction Projects
(Faculty of Architecture University of Moratuwa, 2020-11) Priyaruwan, EAS; Shandraseharan, A; Perera, BAKS
The construction industry in a country contributes significantly to the national economy. Developing countries in Asia produce a huge amount of construction waste. Road Construction (RC) projects, which are quite risky, often end up with cost and time overruns. Construction materials account for a major portion of the cost overruns. Thus, the management of material wastage in construction projects is important. Aggregate Base Course (ABC) wastage affects the cost of RC significantly. Thus, this study was on the waste management of ABC in RC projects executed in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and the required empirical data were collected by interviewing 13 experts. The interview findings were analysed manually using content analysis. The interviews were conducted based on the findings of a literature review. The interviews findings disclosed that improper material storage in sites, material wastage during transportation, improper material utilization, and professional inefficiency as the major factors that contribute to material wastage in road projects. Material reconciliation and proper documentation were identified as the two most common strategies that can be adopted to manage the material wastage in RC projects.
item: Article-Full-text
Performance management of contractor’s quantity surveyors through the use of proper documents and records
(Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, 2022) Nisansala, MK; Shandraseharan, A; Perera, K; Disaratna, V
Errors in construction documents and records can have serious impacts on construction projects. These impacts are manifested mostly during the construction and post-construction stages of the projects. The errors in documents and records significantly affect the performance of quantity surveyors (QSs) working for contractors. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate how the performance of contractor QSs could be managed using proper documents and records. A mixed approach was used to collect the required empirical data via a series of interviews and a questionnaire survey. The collected data were analysed using manual content analysis and relative important index, respectively. The results of the analysis indicate the documents and records that are significantly relevant to contractor QSs. Similarly, significant errors that can occur in those documents and records and causes of those errors also were identified. Finally, the solutions that could minimize the errors were identified and ranked according to their significance. The study findings revealed that the use of proper documentation and record management can enhance the performance of contractor QSs and ensure project success by controlling cost and time overruns.
item: Conference-Abstract
Significant financial and economic risk factors in coastal land reclamation projects
(2021-07) Perera, HAHP; Perera, BAKS; Shandraseharan, A
The demand for land required for construction and development has been rapidly increasing over the past 30 years in the global context because of population growth, especially in coastal cities. Therefore, coastal land reclamation (CLR) has drawn attention both internationally and regionally. However, CLR projects are complex and costly and, therefore, are often associated with numerous risks. Although risk management in CLR projects has been the focus of few past studies, they have not specifically focused on financial and economic risks. This study, therefore, aimed to identify the most significant financial and economic risk factors present in CLR projects to enable the management of those risks. The required empirical data were collected by conducting a two-round Delphi survey, comprising expert interviews and a questionnaire survey. The collected data were analysed using content and descriptive statistics. The results revealed 13 significant financial and economic risk factors of CLR projects. Quality of sand and soil was identified as the most important risk factor of CLR projects. Delayed payment, unpredictable safety and security conditions of the country, dredging volume and defaulting contractors and subcontractors were identified in the next top four ranking in this study.
item: Conference-Abstract
Towards long-term sustainable performance of post-disaster housing reconstruction : second life for temporary housing
(2021-07) Rathnasinghe, A; Sirimewan, D; Shandraseharan, A; Thurairajah, N; Thayaparan, M; Waidyasekara, KGAS
The pressing human needs caused due to post-disaster effects may force donors to provide a roof above the heads of the displaced communities than focusing on fulfilling the references of a ‘home,’ which is a step toward restoring a certain sense of stability embedded with social, cultural, economic, and other interactions. And several displaced communities around the world continue to live in their temporary housing on a long-term basis. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating methods to consider a second life for the post-disaster temporary housing which may ensure long-term sustainable performance. A comprehensive literature survey has been carried out in attaining the aim. Many studies have found that the rapid post-disaster housing re-construction strategies through universal working standards have become unsustainable and culturally unacceptable in the long term. Furthermore, in various instances, the real-life post-disaster temporary housing has been simply dismantled or abandoned due to the end of usage and cultural incompatibility, without giving any concern for future disasters. This could be minimised by transforming the donor initiated temporary housing into a permanent basis. To achieve this, scholars have identified the need of considering the socio-cultural and related physical needs through active involvement of affected communities. Therefore, to achieve prolonged use of temporary housing, the findings suggest that the social and cultural needs of communities and associated physical transformations need to be considered by the donors. The findings serve as a way forward to explore a transformational space that can accommodate social and physical transformations in post-disaster housing reconstruction.