Purpose Problems of Malaysian construction industry have often been associated, in part to incompetent construction manager (CM) when managing the construction projects. Although various education and training provisions have been introduced, critics argue that the provisions have not been effective. Central in the debate on the adequacy of the CM education and training offered is the answer to the question of “what constitutes the technical competency of the CM?” The purpose of this paper is to present the study that identifies the technical competencies required by the CM to address the question. Design/methodology/approach Multi-layered thematic analysis of literature was first carried out to identify the technical competency elements. Then, interviews were undertaken to confirm the elements of competencies. It was followed with questionnaire surveys to test the validity of the technical competencies against different contractors’ category and grade/size. Findings The findings suggest that the technical competencies of CM are generic, regardless of the size of construction organisation or the types of projects they undertake. A total of 16 CM technical competencies were identified which include the ability to manage: staff, materials, labour, plant, sub-contractors, safety, money, quality, time, environment, site administration, pre-construction activities, project closeout and handover, third parties, computer literacy, and construction contract. Originality/value The findings suggest that generic education and training is possible to develop technically competent CM. It also provides insights to the CM technical competencies which the industry is expecting.

Primarily due to contractors’ faults, construction industries in Malaysia have been facing problems such as delays, wastages, cost overruns and others. Inability of construction manager (CM) to efficiently manage construction projects is the major contribution to projects’ failure, and the lack of terms of reference on the technical competency for CM are believed to be the major setback. This paper reports the results of a preliminary study which was carried out to identify the technical competencies of CM. Exploratory mixed research methods were selected by employing qualitative and quantitative approaches. Multi-layered thematic analysis was embedded into literature analysis to maintain reliability and then validate through structured interviews. It was found that CM requires several technical competencies including managing staff, materials, labours, plants, sub-contractors, safety, money, quality, time, environment, administration, pre-construction, closeout and handover, responsibility to other parties, computer literacy, and administration of construction contract. Hence, the technical competencies for CM are believed to be exhaustive and holistic in singling out the appropriate technical knowledge and skills, and bring about numerous advantageous towards technically competent CM.

The construction industry is known as the most hazardous industry and has always been plagued with accident for a long time. Incidents or accidents that happened at construction sites has caused several drawbacks of project performance, such as delay in project completion, increase project cost, reduce productivity and create negative impressions to the organization. Therefore, it is crucial for employer to ensure safety and health at the workplace is taken care of to avoid accident. This paper presents the review of the factors affecting safety performance of construction project, focusing on project level. Among the most frequently cited factors that affect safety performance of construction project in project level are safety training, implementation of safe working environment and implementation of safe plant and equipment. The outcomes of the paper may serve as a starting point for further research in investigating the main.

Abstract. It is a common conviction that project management, construction management, and site management are the tools for improving the performance of the construction project as a whole. Notwithstanding the similarities and differences between all of them, construction management which consists of off-site and on-site activities is deemed to have the major influence on the succession of a project. Consequently, a competent construction manager is required throughout the particular phase to shape the construction stability and geared up to complete the proposed development as according to several common objectives. Nonetheless, a competent construction manager will not just appear "out of the blue", they need to be teach, train, and develop in order to equip them with comprehensive competency sets. For that reason, education, training, and continuing professional development (CPD) are in place to provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. However, the debates on the inadequacy and problems on current construction management programs are continued to impede Malaysia's construction environment. It has been observed that lack of term of reference on the technical competency for construction manager is became the major setback. Hence, this paper tries to unfold the circumstances by offering a preliminary countermeasure to alleviate the situation through analysis of literatures. It was found that, the associated central phenomenon is believed to be explored holistically with the inclusion of multi layered thematic analysis as a tool to assist the exploration processes. Then, the respective outcomes from the analysis are deemed to be ready for subsequent phases, for instance the validation phase.

Abstract.Construction industry in Malaysia covers almost 1