Timely Delivery of Road Construction Project at Optimal Cost; the Role of Survey and Design Department

ABSTRACT Construction survey and design has an important role in the timely delivery of the project in Ghana, especially in road or highway construction. There are several interpretations of design, as well as the survey when it comes to the delivery of highways. This is probably because the design effort has been made rather independently by researchers from different backgrounds, who work on different design phases. In Ghana, limited research had been done with regards to the roles played by Survey and Design department in contributing to the timely delivery of construction roads at optimal cost. The aim is to identify the roles of survey and design department in the Ghana Highway Authority in achieving the timely delivery of road construction projects at an optimal cost. In achieving this, the following objectives were established: to identify the factors that affects the timely delivery of road construction projects at an optimal cost, to ascertain the effects of untimely delivery of projects at an optimal cost and to identify the roles of survey and design department in enhancing the timely delivery of road construction projects at optimal cost. The study adopted quantitative approach where survey questionnaires were administered via e-mail and personal delivery to the respondents in the Ghana Highway Authority and construction firms, Upper West region. 60 out of 88 questionnaires were successfully collected from the targeted population in Ghana, at a response rate of 68.18%. The completed questionnaires were coded and entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences current version twenty-three. . The data analysis technique adopted was mean score ranking and Kendall’s coefficient of Concordance. The mean score ranking was used to find out the most significant factors which influence the respondents and Kendall’s coefficient of Concordance was used to determine the level of agreement on the variables by the respondents. The study adopted the quantitative research strategy, where the targeted respondents were allowed to respond to structured questionnaires. The results revealed that public interruption is the most agreed on factor that affects the timely delivery of road construction projects at an optimal cost. The study revealed that calling for arbitration is a major effect of untimely delivery of projects at an optimal cost. Finally, the study portrayed that, the major role of Survey and Design department in mitigating delay on road construction is preparing a detailed design. The study contributed to knowledge by creating awareness that preparation of detailed drawing is capable of helping to minimize untimely delivery of road project in Ghana. The following recommendations are made: the construction industry should be very mindful with the factors that are liable to cause delay in the construction industry and try mitigate them at the early stage of construction, the construction industry, especially the Ghana Highway Authority should make efficient use of the strategies mitigating construction delays and enough awareness should be created to help know the effects of road construction delays. The research study was presented with undeniable constraints in its conduct, as well as the scope of the study. Most of the respondents were busy but the researcher managed to attain an appropriate number that can be analysed for generalization. Also, the study was based on published papers from conference proceedings and journals. The research can therefore be used as bases for a recommendation for future research works. It is proved that further research is important in the following subject: development of framework policy to help mitigate delay on construction project and further analytical tools can be used to still analyse the effects of delay on construction projects in Ghana. Keywords: Road construction: Construction industry, Ghana, optimal cost, Survey and Design department, timely delivery.

Source: KNUST