Browsing by Author "Msomba, Philemon"

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    Establishment of impediments to small and medium local contractors’ performance in construction projects in local government authorities in Tanzania
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2009) Msomba, Philemon
    In this research, the main focus was the establishment of impediments to small and medium local contractor’s performance to construction projects in Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania. The primary objective was the identification of factors caused by contractors and LGAs towards poor performance of construction projects in LGAs, the extent of effects of critical factors on the overall performance of construction projects and suggesting measures for their mitigation. Various general causes of poor contractors’ performance were obtained from literature review. Poor performance of construction projects in LGAs in Tanzania performed by small and medium local contractors were obtained from interview and questionnaire filled in by 79 LGAs engineers and 60 contractors. Opinion on the mitigation measures were as well obtained from interviews and questionnaires. In this research, a number of factors of poor performance of construction projects in LGAs caused by contractors and LGAs have been identified. These included inadequate experience and management skills of technical personnel for both contractors and LGAs staff, lack of working capital to contractors inadequate equipment’s and plants to most of contractors, delay of payments to contractors from LGAs, corruption, political interference and community contribution not made on time. Most of these factors were attributed to lack of proper application of project management principles, unfavorable academic environment and bureaucratic decision making process in LGAs. The contributing effect of each factor was ranked in terms of a contributory percentage. One of the key measures for mitigation of poor performance of construction projects in LGAs identified in this study was to improve project management skill to technical personnel for both contractors’ side and LGAs staff.
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    A framework for collaboration in management of risks in construction projects
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2019) Msomba, Philemon
    Construction projects can be unpredictable. Managing risks in construction projects has been recognized as a very important process in order to achieve project objectives in terms of time, cost, quality, safety and environmental sustainability especially in the era where projects have become more dynamic and complex. Individually, contractors, consultants and clients, have commonly approached risk management in isolation. In many projects there are tendencies of project parties to try to avoid risks as far as possible and let somebody else in the construction chain deal with them resulting into inadequate and unfair risk management efforts. Collaboration of project parties in management of risk is thus critical to the success of any construction project. Effective collaboration in management of risks and uncertainties of the construction projects are essential for decision-making in construction process. Data used in this research were collected through both questionnaire and interview surveys. A total of 200 respondents gave opinions on risks, risk management, collaboration drivers and collaborative tools. Validation of the model was done through case study projects. Analysis of data was based on central tendency statistics, and these were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 10.0. The research has established a total of twenty four (24) critical risk factors; the research has also established six project dimensions which influence risk management, these included project funding; project characteristics; project team; project implementation boundaries; procurement implementation arrangement; and stakeholders. Critical enablers’ factors for collaboration were also established. These included trust; open communication; skill/competence; commitment; information sharing; good relationship and mutual understanding. Other established enabling factors are proactive and joint problem solving; knowledge sharing; fair distribution of responsibilities; flexibility; seamless operation; fairly drafted contracts and no blame culture. Furthermore, the study has established collaborative tools for effective collaboration. These included open communication; site and progress meetings; follow-up workshops.