AS 2012 Volume 19 Issue 1
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Browsing AS 2012 Volume 19 Issue 1 by Author "Smallwood, John"
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Item Open Access A linear regression modelling of the relationship between initial estimated and final achieved construction time in South Africa(University of the Free State, 2012) Aiyetan, Olatunji Ayodeji; Smallwood, John; Shakantu, WinstonEnglish: The estimation of contract completion time has always been inaccurate despite there being a need for certainty regarding the completion of projects. This article reports on an investigation of the relationship between initial and final contract time with the aim of developing an equation for reasonably estimating project period. Data for the study was secured from a total of eighty-eight questionnaires and sixty-five projects. The sample population consisted of architects, contractors, quantity surveyors, structural engineers and clients. Five metropolitan cities in the provinces of the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape, namely Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, constitute the geographical area in which the study was conducted. Inferential statistical analysis, including regression analysis, was used to evolve, inter alia, a model and linear equations for estimating building construction time. The equations involved in the respective phases of the study are Y = 9.9 + 1.0586x for phase one, and Y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x for phase two. During phase two of the study, it was determined that 35.3% additional time needs to be added to the amount of the initial contract period in order to estimate final contract time. It is recommended that either the equation Y = 13.1159 + 1.1341x be used, or that 35.3% additional time be added to the amount of initial contract time to estimate the final contract time.Item Open Access Perceptions of the quality of low-income houses in South Africa: defects and their causes(University of the Free State, 2012) Zunguzane, Nyameka; Smallwood, John; Emuze, FidelisEnglish: A number of low-income houses recently built in South Africa are reportedly defective. The sheer number of low-income houses that failed to conform to quality expectations, especially in certain provinces, has become a source of concern for the national Department of Human Settlements (DHS) and other construction industry stakeholders. This article assesses issues related to non-conformance to quality requirements in low-income houses from the perspective of both owners and contractors. A quantitative survey was conducted among housing beneficiaries in a post-1994 township in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. The initial findings were further complemented with the perceptions of contractors registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). Selected findings suggest that the principal causes of defects in low-income houses is perceived to be related to the use of emerging contractors who are presumably not experienced enough, and to the use of unskilled labour by the contractors. By implication, the respondents were of the opinion that poor workmanship could be the primary cause of defects in low-income houses. It can, therefore, be argued that, apart from adequate monitoring and inspection of projects, stakeholders in the form of emerging contractors and their labour should endeavour to improve their competencies pertaining to quality.