Development of a framework for building cost information management in Nigeria

  • Ozavize Oine Banwo

    Student thesis: Doctoral ThesisDoctor of Philosophy

    Abstract

    There are various factors that influence successful delivery of building construction projects such as cost, quality, time, project objectives etc. As such the success of a project should not only be based on quality output but also on project cost objectives and time. Review of literatures in the study area revealed that one of the main issues of building cost management in Nigeria is inaccurate building cost estimation due to unreliable cost information. To address these inherent limitations of building cost management, several studies have recommended the development of a database for building cost information that better addresses the demands for reliable and accurate building cost information. The thesis presents the development of a robust building cost information management framework to aid building cost estimation and project cost management processes in the Nigerian construction industry by exploring current cost management practices and investigating the underlying factors affecting building cost variances.

    The methodology adopted for this study involved literature review and mixed method approach combining qualitative, quantitative, and documented building cost data. The quantitative data was obtained using an online questionnaire survey from 37 respondents to determine the underlying factors influencing building cost variances across different regions in Nigeria. In addition, semi-structure interviews were used to investigate current building cost estimation issues and perceptions of quantity surveyors on building cost management practices in Nigeria. Finally, documented building cost data from eleven completed building projects across the six geo-political regions in Nigeria were used to investigate impact of types of clients on final building costs.

    The combination of quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data enabled the use of a range of analysis strategies and statistical techniques such as T-test analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, inferential statistics, and content analysis.

    Emerging findings revealed that the Nigerian construction industry currently has no reliable building cost information database for cost estimation and appraisal.

    A building cost information framework was developed based on the identified functional cost requirements from historical building cost data and no other aspect of construction, hence cost of other aspect of construction was not explored.

    This thesis attains a significant contribution to knowledge by the identification of factors affecting building cost management and development of a framework to address some of the issues of building cost variances in Nigeria.
    Date of AwardFeb 2022
    Original languageEnglish
    Awarding Institution
    • Coventry University
    SupervisorAndrew Arewa (Supervisor) & George Agyekum-Mensah (Supervisor)

    Keywords

    • Cost information
    • Management
    • Estimation
    • Nigeria
    • Cost Variance
    • Building Cost Information Management

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