Browsing by Author "Bowen, Paul A"

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    The acceptability of concrete block construction in low cost housing in the Cape Peninsula area
    (UFS Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management, 2002) Bredeveldt, Toni K; Alexander, Mark G; Bowen, Paul A
    This article presents the findings of a research project examining the acceptability of concrete block construction for low cost housing in the Cape Peninsula in terms of materials and execution. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire survey in which residents of low cost housing were interviewed. In addition, personal and telephonic interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from the construction industry involved in the delivery of low cost housing. The findings indicate that concrete block construction is being used extensively for low cost housing developments in the Cape Peninsula, owing to its defining characteristics such as ease of construction, affordability, durability, speedy delivery and acceptance. End-users are generally satisfied with the construction material used for the wall structure of their current houses. They are, however, dissatisfied with the workmanship of the construction, as they feel that problems such as cracking and damp have arisen because of hurried and incomplete construction. The end-users are aware that the wall structures are not plastered, but only bagged, Even without any formal or technical knowledge of building houses, they state that they should be involved in the planning and construction stages of their new homes with regard to funding and appearance in order to make these homes more affordable and acceptable. Despite a lack of technical knowledge of concrete technology, the respondents felt that the concrete block was the most acceptable form of construction material available for wall structures because of its perceived strength and durability.
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    HIV/AIDS responses in the Western Cape: the implementation of treatment programmes in construction companies
    (2012) Dondo, Chido Francisca; Bowen, Paul A
    HIV/AIDS poses a threat to the productivity and growth of organisations. The construction sector not only stands to be threatened by the disease, but also poses as a contributor to the spread of the HIV virus. A combined survey and case study approach was employed to determine the responses to HIV/AIDS of construction companies in the Western Cape area.
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    An investigation into the training of labour in the informal construction sector in Kenya
    (2008) Wachira, Isabella Njeri; Root, David; Bowen, Paul A; Olima, Washington A
    The training of craftsmen in Kenya is the responsibility of their traditional employer the contractor. However, over the last 20 years, the contractors’ motivation to train has been eroded by increased casualisation. Concurrently, there was growth of the informal procurement system propagated by private sector clients, who have no incentive to train because they are ad hoc consumers of construction services. Together these phenomena led to the collapse of the formal craft training and growth of informal skilling. Currently however, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the nature of informal craft training. The intent of this research was to redress this by identifying the types of skills informally employed craftsmen are acquiring, how these skills are acquired and how training delivery can be enhanced. The hypotheses of the research were that the skills and skilling methods in the informal sector do not differ significantly from those in the formal sector and that the nature of training in the informal construction sector is clearly understood.
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    The treatment of uncertainty in construction price modelling
    (1991) Strez, Henryk Andrzej Leon; Bowen, Paul A
    The purpose of this thesis was to acquaint the reader on the nature of the uncertainty present in construction price forecasting and to introduce an environment that has the ability to integrate these uncertainties with greater consistency than that possessed by available price models. The objective of this thesis was to establish that uncertainty can be explicitly treated in price forecasting models. This would have two benefits to concerned parties. Firstly, the effectiveness of price forecasts could be improved as provision could be made for any uncertain variable. This will be of great benefit to the client, as a more accurate assessment of the building process could be established at an earlier stage of the design process. Secondly, the price forecast will be more useful to quantity surveyors, architects and clients, as it would 'quantify' the extent of the uncertainty which could be provided for in a more meaningful manner. In order to establish that existing price models do not deal with the uncertainty present at the time of forecasting, the price models used by practitioners were evaluated against the different types of uncertainty found at the different stages of the price forecasting process. Once this had been established, eight techniques that have the ability to treat various forms of uncertainty, were presented. After analysing the techniques abilities to cope with the uncertainties associated with price forecasting, it was established that certain of these techniques do have the ability, and are suitable, to be incorporated into the price forecasting process. From the results of a questionnaire survey conducted on quantity surveying offices in South Africa, it was found that the price models used by practitioners do not take uncertainty into account, and have in fact, the potential for uncertainty inducement. Some of the uncertainty found to be present in the preparation of a construction price forecast include the lack or incompleteness of design information, the uncertainty in the communication of design information, the variability in the data used by quantity surveyors and, the uncertainty in the choice of price model during the different stages of the design process. As a possible solution to the problem of uncertainty, an expert system environment, utilising a three-dimensional classification of uncertainty, has been proposed. It has been proved that this environment has the ability to cater for the uncertainty associated with the price forecasting process, as well as having the attribute of providing the user with the reasoning behind the logic that the expert system has followed, a characteristic not possible with the traditional forms of price models. From the findings of this thesis, it can be concluded that the methods of price modelling used by quantity surveying practitioners, are unable to take uncertainty into account effectively. It can also be concluded that an expert system environment has the ability to handle the different forms of uncertainty found at the various stages of construction design. The proposed model is conceptual in nature and has not been tested in practice. It is therefore recommended that further research be carried out in this field, with the aim of producing a construction price forecasting expert system which utilises the proposed three-dimensional classification of uncertainty.