Evaluation of contractor’s equipment management practices in road construction projects

There have been efforts from both public and private sector to improve the availability of construction equipment in Tanzania. However, these efforts are hampered by problems associated with poor equipment management especially in road projects. This dissertation presents the findings of what are sources of these problems and generally the management practices of equipment in road projects. Literature review was used to establish the desirable equipment management practice in road projects. This was used as a standard for evaluating against what is done in road projects. The data was collected by using questionnaires to contractors as well as through observation of practices at on-going road construction projects in Dar es Salaam and Coast region. Weaknesses identified include equipment schedules are not well prepared, inadequate equipment maintenance, inadequate capital to purchase equipment, higher equipment hiring rates and high cost of maintenance. In order to improve equipment management in road projects, equipment hiring centers in each zone with good maintenance workshops and enough qualified mechanics is recommended. Also training and licensing of operators and mechanics should be introduced. Contractors should collaborate among themselves in order to pull together available resources to buy new equipments, operate and maintain them properly in execution of the road works.