Applicability Of Site Automation In Monitoring Project Perfomance In Kenya: A Case Study Of Construction Firms In Nairobi
Abstract
In modern construction management, site automation has been used to improve on
project performance. This study sought to evaluate factors affecting site automation
levels in construction firms and identify their impact on project performance. The
study identified seven factors affecting site automation levels. The study hypothesized
that, site automation levels varies significantly with the size of a firm, complexity of a
project and cost of site automation technologies. Further, sought to find out whether
there is significant difference in project performance by construction firms that have
high automation levels than those with minimal automation levels. The study
employed two conceptual models to establish the factors affecting site automation
levels on construction sites and further explore the influence of site automation on
project performance. Higher project performance was measured in terms impact of site
automation on project time, budget, quality, scope, and safety.
The study employed descriptive research design and structured questionnaires were
used in data collection from a sample size of 277 construction firms registered under
NCA 1-3. The impact of factors affecting adoption of site automation technologies and
evaluation of the impact of automation on project performance was measured using a
five-point likert scale. Correlation analysis was undertaken to determine the strength
and significance of association between factors influencing automation and levels of
site automation while to explain the variance in levels of site automation and to
generate a predictive model, standard multiple regression was undertaken. Finally, to
establish whether the level of site automation significantly varies with the theorized
factors of site automation, a chi-square test for independence was undertaken.
The results showed that the level of site automation is strongly and significantly
associated with costs of automation, size of the firm, project magnitude, and staff
capacity. The results showed that majority of the firms (96 percent) were using partial
automation. The results further indicated that automation of labour, materials, plant
and equipment; construction processes can be associated with improved project
performance up to 41.9 percent. The study established that there is significant
difference in project performance by construction firms that have high levels of site
automation than those with minimal levels of automation. In this regard, 76.7 percent
of the firms indicated that use of site automation technologies had a major influence on
project performance with greater influence on improved quality, better health and
safety, and reduction in completion time and thus recommended that firms be
sensitized in the adoption of site automation technologies. The study further
recommends that, the National Construction Authority to formulate legal framework
that construction firms that can be used to use site automation to improve project
performance.
Publisher
University Of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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