Factors Impacting the Quality of Construction in the United Arab Emirates - Research Proposal Example

Factors Impacting the Quality of Construction in the United Arab Emirates Introduction In the current day phenomenon, the construction industry in United Arab Emirates (UAE) can be perceived to undergo significant changes in terms of technological development and managerial progresses. However, due to rapid changes in the international business and economic environment, organizations which are related with UAE construction industry also have to face certain difficulties in adopting with these changes adequately. In addition, owing to the increasing requirements of people, higher environmental consciousness of public, inadequate resources and high level of competition in the commercial marketplace, the contractors are required to enhance their ability in order to develop their performance based on these aspects. Accumulatively, the aforementioned factors tend to have a significant influence over the quality delivered by the construction industry. Furthermore, there are other factors which also impose a certain degree of impact on the quality of construction industry can be identified as construction materials, management and training of employees, and capability of contractors. Literature Review In the UAE, government tends to provide significant consideration towards the construction industry. Governmental reports, in this regards reveal that the construction segment in the UAE has seen an era of remarkable boom, especially prior to 2007-2008 financial downturn when the industry was negatively impacted by the consequent debt crisis. During the economic failure of 2007, several construction projects in UAE were postponed or cancelled. Furthermore, the intense changes in micro-environmental factors such as markets, customers and competitors along with the confidence of construction organizations in the UAE was observed to reduce considerably where the market players started reconsidering their business strategies. Contextually, several organizations had experienced problems for adjusting with the changes occurring in the international business environment. Due to lack of readiness to adjust with the changing business circumstances, most of the construction organizations were forced to adopt survival strategies rather than growth strategies during the past few years which imposed a considerable impact on the quality assurance rendered by the company (Oryx Middle East, n.d.). Despite of the above circumstances, UAE has high probability of growth in its construction segment. The rise of oil price in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region initiates several big construction projects in the UAE. The growth in construction services demands is also expected to increase due to enhancement in population and significant expenditure of government on social infrastructural development (Alpen Capital Corporation, 2012). According to Enshassi, Mohamed & Abushaban (2009), the structure of construction industry is quite complex owing to the involvement of several participants ranging from landlords to government officials. Irrespective of this complexity, construction segment plays a vital role in the modernization of the society. It is in this context that construction projects can demonstrate poor quality due to several factors such as inaccessibility of resources, unnecessary changes in design and diagram, weak coordination among project members, ineffectual observation and reaction amid the workforce, and lack of project control skills. Moreover, the political and economic factors can also be argued to have resulted in weak performance of construction works (Enshassi, Mohamed & Abushaban, 2009). According to Hoonakker (n.d.), in its recent operations, the construction industry in UAE had to face a few performance as well as productivity issues. Nowadays, construction industry is going through a period of contemplation which is intensified by improved technological and social transformation. These transformations have further been observed to be altering the rhythm of business environment within which construction activities takes place. Hence, organizations which perform in the construction industry cannot ignore the changing environment if they desire to survive. In present days, clients demand improved service quality, faster construction and improvement in technology. Several concepts such as ‘Total Quality Management’ (TQM), Reengineering and Lean approach are being utilized in the construction industry in order to enhance the level of quality assurance. Furthermore, quality management principles are progressively being implemented in the construction industry in order to solve the problems associated with quality and to satisfy the requirements of the ultimate customers (Hoonakker, n.d.). Based on a similar context, Chew & Chain (1996) specified that there are three key factors which tend to impose strongest impact on the quality of construction. These factors can be identified as lower degree of managerial commitment, unsatisfying clarification of standard requirements and inadequate training policies. Recent studies have also depicted that there are many construction organizations which are unaware about the benefits of implementing a better quality management approach and thus, following the conventional mechanism, they apply quality system in their construction only due to market stress. In terms of quality standard requirements, a lack of appropriate definition regarding certain terms can also be observed, which can result in misinterpretation and confusion among organizations. Furthermore, it has also been observed that construction organizations are much concerned with the training facilities of their employees rather than the non-registered workers who are also related with the field work in the UAE construction industry (Said, Ayub, Razaki & Kooi, n.d.). According to Bubshait (2001), throughout the construction phase, several aspects can be identified which can impact on the quality of offered by the industry. These factors can be further divided in three classifications which are managerial factors, design and specification factors and production factors. The managerial factors can be identified in terms of qualifications and experiences of the contractors, abilities of machineries, skills of the workforces and amount of commissioned construction works. It is worth mentioning in this regard that lack of experienced workforce can result in inadequate process control. In UAE, majority of construction staffs are skilled, semiskilled or unskilled in nature. However, in order to reduce the operational expenditure, the construction organizations in UAE usually employ young and unskilled employees, which results in insufficient control of construction procedure, and hence give rise to the risk of poor quality assurance. Furthermore, better and improved machineries allow contractors to plan in a better and inexpensive way to achieve the construction works. In the similar context, factors which are classified as design and specification factors can be identified as quality of construction design, quality of composition of different raw materials and the level of specification of projects. Finally, production factors which tend to have an impact on the quality of construction works are manufacturing activities such as mixing, placing and controlling. In order to maintain the quality of construction, a need for maintaining an aggregate level of gradation, temperature and mixture of different products can also be identified which in turn can have a significant influence on the quality aspects (Bubshait, 2001). Research Questions The above literatures reviewed and demonstrated that there are ample factors which can potentially impact the quality of construction projects in UAE construction industry. Based on this philosophy, the research will be developed towards studying and analyzing a vast range of information in order to recognize the factors which are quite likely to influence the quality of construction projects in UAE. Thus, the research question can be formulated as, “what are the most vital factors which impact on the quality of construction projects in UAE?” Emphasizing on the framed research question, the objectives of the study can be determined as follows: To recognize the various factors which imposes an impact on the performance of construction works in the UAE To recognize the importance of maintaining quality in the construction industry UAE taking into account the present competitive business environment To understand the aspects which can help to improve the quality of construction projects Based on the findings obtained in relation to the aforementioned objectives the research will also attempt to formulate a few recommendations which can help in develop the project performance in UAE. Research Model In general, there are two kinds of models mostly applied for research purposes which can be identified as qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative research is often regarded as a conventional model used for conducting a research which is mostly concentrated on the application of fresh and updated information. Owing to its philosophy, a quantitative research is used for determining the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables. On the other hand, qualitative research is considered to be constructivist and explanatory in nature. Qualitative research model is used for analyzing information by using language and behavior in natural backgrounds. It is worth mentioning in this regard that quantitative research can be descriptive or experimental in nature, whereas, a qualitative research is expressive in nature (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Considering the features of both models in relation to the determined research objectives, quantitative research model will be used in the analysis. The reason for using a quantitative approach is that this method will help to obtain a better in-sight into the prime issues of interest and explore distinctions related to the determined research question which focuses on identifying the vital factors that affect on construction projects (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). In the initial phase, research problem will be identified. After identification of the research problem, the framework for conducting the research will be designed and accordingly the research approach will be planned. The study of the research subject will begin by reviewing different literatures. Literature review will be undertaken by comprehensive study of the research subject in order to generate a basic understanding on certain factors which can have an impact on the quality deliverance of the construction industry in UAE. To obtain a comprehensive view, factors, which will be studied in the literature review, has been illustrated in the diagram below: After conducting the literature review, questionnaire survey will be conducted for gathering adequate primary data. With the purpose of collecting sufficient information related to the research issue, samples will be selected randomly from the cluster of 150 engineers and managers of construction organizations in the UAE. The respondents will be approached only after taking ethical authorization from institutions. Collected data from questionnaire will then be analyzed through statistical methods (i.e. mean and mode analysis) taking the assistance of charts and graphs. After completion of analysis, data will be examined for validity and reliability. On the basis of analysis of primary and secondary data, the findings will be made. Contextually, the major objective of the analysis will be to recognize the different factors that can influence the performance of construction industry from a quality concerned perceptive in UAE. The aforementioned phases have been presented in a comprehensive form in the diagram below: Data Collection Concerning the broadness and the requirement of the study, both primary as well as secondary data sources will be used in the research as it can help to reduce the biasness and also increase the validity and reliability of research study by a considerable extent. It is in this context that the primary data will be collected through survey method for the purpose of this study. The secondary data will be collected from literatures, governmental reports and other similar sources. Survey Method In this research, the primary data will be collected by using a survey method. Survey research design is often regarded as quite valuable for evaluating the thoughts and views of the respondents in relation to the research issue from a critical point of view. In quantitative model, survey can be conducted in several methods, such as through the questionnaire method, observation method and ethnographic method among others. In this research, questionnaire method will be used to design a survey. The reason for using a questionnaire method is that it can assist in collecting considerable amount of data with less effort and cost as well as engaging minimum time. Furthermore, collecting data through questionnaire can also reduce the level of biasness. Therefore, in this research, questionnaire approach can be regarded as appropriate as it will provide adequate amount of relevant data for the research (Zahedi, 1986). For any research, data can be classified as two types, i.e. qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data provides narrative information while quantitative data provides numerical information. It is in this context that quantitative data can be collected through questionnaire as well as interview process. These are considered as two of the most popular data collection techniques in the area of managerial research. Emphasizing on these aspects, in this research, quantitative data will be collected through questionnaire method. About 150 questionnaires will be used for collecting adequate information on the identified research issue. The respondents of those questionnaires will be the project managers, the engineers and the organizational managers working in various construction sites in UAE. The responses of the participants will be gathered in uniform format. It is worth mentioning that the reason for using a questionnaire survey method for the purpose of this study is that it is often regarded as an appropriate technique to accumulate quantitative data. Besides, questionnaire method is easier to be controlled in terms of data collection. In this method; the respondents can also find it easy to answer the questions sincerely. Sampling Sampling will be used in this research in order to undertake the planned questionnaire survey. Sampling is usually used when opinions from uncommon population are examined and when the reasons for a particular phenomenon are studied. In this research, a specific sample comprising of engineers and construction managers will be studied. Sampling can be conducted following three fundamental techniques which can be identified as probability sampling, purposive sampling and non-probability sampling (Polonsky & Waller, 2010). In this research, probability sampling will be followed. The sample respondents will be collected randomly from construction sites. Probability sampling can again be classified into five methods which are simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, systematic random sampling, cluster random sampling and multi-stage sampling. In this research, simple random sampling method will be followed where every respondent will have equal opportunity to be chosen as the sample. Description of Data Questionnaire can include two kinds of questions which are open-ended and close-ended. In open-ended question, the respondents are asked to share their opinions without any boundary. Open-ended questions are useful in order to encourage the approaches of respondents on the research subject. Although open-ended questions can provide much information on a specific research problem, it is quite difficult to be interpreted accurately in most instances, especially in the case of complex research issues; hence, the method necessitates coding and grouping. Open-ended questions can also result in increasing complexity in describing the research questions properly. On the other hand, close-ended questions provide respondents with the opportunity to depict distinct set of answers with given options. The answers in close-ended questions include scaled reaction. The questionnaire in this research will be focused on close-ended questions where the reactions of the respondents on those questions will be recorded through Likert Scaling technique. Discussion on Results and Analysis Technique The results of the questionnaire will be ranked from most important to less important following the Likert Scaling technique. The most significant factors according to the respondents will be displayed and tabulated by using graphs and charts. Hence, it can be expected to help in understanding the most vital and significant factors responsible for quality of construction industry in UAE. Based on the scaling method, statistical methods will also be used to generate understanding on the reaction of research questions and thus help to develop explanations to the research problem. SPSS software will be used for analyzing the data through which influencing factors on the quality of construction in UAE industry will be identified and ways will be suggested for mitigating the problems. SPSS shall also provide a series of aptitude for the entire investigative procedure. The numerical information will further be analyzed through the application of in SPSS to obtain mean and mode of the variables identified in literature review (Monir El-Sayegh, 2007). The statistical analysis can further be conducted following three techniques which are descriptive statistics, associative statistics and inferential statistics. Taking into concern, the pros and cons of the techniques, inferential statistical method will be used for the purpose of this research in order to analyze the research subject. The results of those questionnaires will be measured by using mean and mode calculations. In addition, a descriptive analysis will be conducted in order to define and interpret the gathered data. Descriptive research will also help to describe methodically about the circumstances, problems and occurrences of the research issues and accordingly describe the approaches adopted by the respondents. Reliability and Validity Testing Reliability and validity are regarded to be the two most vital elements to determine the effectiveness and scope of a research process. Reliability is the level to which the research analysis is considered to be free from any kind of errors and thus produces dependable results. In order words, reliability is the uniformity of measurement procedure. In this research, reliability will be tested through internal consistency method. Internal consistency measures the homogeneity of information gathered though questionnaire survey technique. Internal consistency can again be analyzed through split half method, alternate-form method and Cronbach’s alpha method. In this research, split-half method will be used for analyzing the internal consistency of the results obtained from the aforementioned research analysis technique. Split-half technique evaluates the level of internal consistency by evaluating one half of the results of scaled items with the other half. In other words, different parts of the questionnaire results will be compared and analyzed for reliability. Contextually, lower level of internal consistency will denote poor reliability. Validity on the other hand is defined as “the extent to which, a test measures, what it claims to measure”. Hence, violation of validity can significantly impact the research outcomes. Validity can be measured through four techniques which are content validity, construct validity, criterion validity and consequential validity. In this research, content validity will be used for measuring if the research is valid. Content validity considers whether the test items of the research, precisely reflects upon the theoretical area of the underlying research concept, which it is entitled to evaluate. Content validity for the research will be measured by classifying and outlining the domain of interests for the research subject (Golafshani, 2003). Ethical Considerations Ethical issues are extensively recommended as the other vital aspects which need to be considered in every research. Contextually, in each research area, there is need for negotiating with the respondents for effectively attaining the required information. Thus, the right to access information from respondents will be gained after obtaining their free consent based on the agreed ethical approval form. Furthermore, it will be ensured that the participation of the respondents on questionnaire survey will be completely voluntary. The answers of the respondents will also be maintained in a very confidential manner. Any kind of information which can reveal the personal identity of respondents will also not be disclosed in the study. Furthermore, the data collected from respondents will be utilized and disposed in an appropriate manner, so that the study becomes ethically appropriate (Polonsky & Waller, 2010). Summary and Conclusion The research is vital for recognizing the aspects which tend to have an impact on the quality of construction industry in UAE. In general, there are several aspects which pose quality concerned challenges for organizations of UAE dealing with the construction works. This research will discuss those factors by undertaking a literature review and a questionnaire survey. Managing quality is a key aspect for any construction which can ensure durability and satisfaction of customers. The research will thus help to understand the most important problems which are faced by the engineers and organizations in UAE construction industry concerned with the maintenance of quality standards. References Alpen Capital Corporation. (2012). GCC construction industry. Retrieved from http://www.alpencapital.com/downloads/GCC%20Construction%20Sector%20Report%20-%2027%20March%202012.pdf Bubshait, A. A. (2001). Quality of pavement construction in Saudi Arabia. Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, pp. 129-136. Chew. Y. S. & Chai. L.N. (1996). ISO 9002 in the Malaysian construction industry guide and implementation. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Enshassi, A., Mohamed, S., & Abushaban, S. (2009). Factors affecting the performance of construction projects in the Gaza strip. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management 15(3), pp. 269-280. Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), pp. 597-607. Hoonakker, P. (n.d.). Quality management in construction industry. Retrieved from https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/plhoonakker/web/documents/Hoonakker%202006%20ASQ%20Quality%20management%20in%20construction%20industry.pdf Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: a research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), pp. 14-26. Monir El-Sayegh, S. (2007). Significant factors affecting the selection of the appropriate project delivery method. 5th Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology, pp. 1-8. Oryx Middle East. (n.d.). Construction industry in the UAE. Retrieved from http://www.oryxme.com/documents/3_year_industry%20forecas.pdf Polonsky, M. J., & Waller, D. S. (2010). Designing and managing a research project: A business students guide. California: SAGE Publications. Said, I., Ayub, A. R., Razaki, A. A., & Kooi, T. K. (n.d.). Factors affecting construction organization quality management system in the Malaysian construction industry. Retrieved from http://eprints.usm.my/16080/1/Ilias_Said_2.pdf Zahedi, F. (1986). The analytic hierarchy process—a survey of the method and its applications. Interfaces, 16(4), pp. 96-108. Read More