Assessment of the effectiveness of construction material usage in Uganda: a case of Nakivubo stadium under ROKO construction company

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of construction material usage at Nakivubo Stadium under Roko Construction Company. More emphasis was put on three study objectives which included examining the existing material management practices, the factors for ineffective material usage at Nakivubo Stadium and strategies on how to promote effective material usage in construction projects. The study used a case study research design and employed quantitative research approach. It targeted a sample size of 86 respondents but 79 respondents responded back. Data was collected using the questionnaire. The study findings revealed that as forms of material management practices, plans were made before purchasing materials, the enough space where to store the materials and security guards at the site. However, the key and essential practices were such proper material record keeping, purchasing from certified suppliers, purchasing in time, having enough equipment used in handling the materials, the issue of weather changes and reuse of some materials were not taken as a priority. Many factors were affecting effective material usage and these included; incompetent workforce in charge of materials, management’s inability to place orders in time, stealing of material both workers & intruders, increase in material prices due to inflation, workers ignoring material handling guidelines and lack of supplier material quality assurance. However, different strategies to improve material usage were proposed and these included; training the workers about material handling techniques, encouraging them to reuse and recycle materials where possible and develop detailed instructions showing the workers how materials should be used, making purchases in time, always inspecting material upon delivery, maintaining store recorders properly, having storekeepers to guard the materials, increasing on-site supervision and putting weather conditions in consideration. The study recommended that project managers should ensure minimized delays in construction works by arranging for effective transport means on time. The company need also invest more on material storage and protection through use of containers where the material can be kept safely and this will cut costs incurred in material damage, There is need to enhance use of computer based material management systems since they can easily be used in the planning and monitoring of materials management and finally the project managers need to invest in CCTV cameras that operate 24/7 so that the theft of materials from the site can be minimized.