PurposeLack of strict compliance to the principles of total quality management (TQM) by construction organizations has brought about poor quality of the finished building projects. This has been blamed for the incessant structural failure reported in Nigeria. This study appraised TQM implementation in the Nigerian construction industry, with a view to mitigating structural failure rate of construction projects. To achieve this aim, the study aims to assess the practice level of TQM and the factors hindering TQM implementation on construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilized a well-structured questionnaire and convenient sampling method in the gathering and sampling of data among construction professionals in Imo state, Nigeria. Data analyses were done using, frequency, percentage, mean analytics and Pareto analysis.FindingsThe study revealed that major practice of TQM principles with respect to structural failure rate are purchasing: ensuring the procurement of materials of the specified quality standard, ensuring the use of a quality improvement construction process of the organization, site management responsibility: this entails ensuring quality supervision by the project management leadership and monitoring and control of quality during the construction to guarantee firm observance quality standards. Also, the major factors hindering TQM implementation on construction projects are: inadequacy of the necessary machineries, equipment, tools and facilities for the effective execution of work on construction site; breakdown in communication and information exchange between the management and supervisory teams on site; poor attitudes and strategies toward maintenance of equipment, tools and machines; and absence of prompt salary and incentive payment. It was recommended that construction firms must require the suppliers of construction materials to strictly comply with quality specification evidence in quality certification of delivered materials to mitigate structural failure.Research limitations/implicationsThis study appraised TQM implementation in the construction industry of Nigeria, with emphasis on Imo state. The study underscores the practice level of TQM and the key factors hindering TQM implementation on construction projects. Following the localized geographical limitation of the study area, a similar research in other part/states of Nigeria or even in other developing countries of African is necessary.Practical implicationsThe practices level of TQM and the factors hindering TQM implementation were identified. This will be useful in guiding construction firms, other industry's key stakeholders and regulatory agencies in bringing about a sustainable quality management system for improve profit and value maximization and avoiding incessant structural failure.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies that have assessed the practice level of TQM and the factors hindering TQM implementation on construction projects in Nigeria. This study took place in Imo state with records of periodic structural failure and building collapse.

The construction industry generates a large volume of waste which distorts the aesthetics of the environment and contributes to the impediments to achieving social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Construction waste impact project schedule, cost, and derails contractor's profit, leads to claims and disputes. Construction tradespeople who are the frontline workers have a role to play in the waste generation of construction projects irrespective of the level of development of a nation. This study assessed the labour-specific factors influencing construction wastes generation on construction projects in Nigeria. The well-structured questionnaire conveniently administered to construction tradespeople in active construction sites in Port Harcourt was used to gathered data. Garnered data were analysed using the mean item score and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. The study found that the most significant labour-specific factor that influence construction waste generation are workers' mistakes/errors leading to rework, poor attitudes of workers, shortage of skilled workers/use of unskilled, poor workmanship, and lack of experience. The study recommended for the organisation of adequate training to improved workers knowledge and skills needed to execute projects tasks.

This paper did a survey of literature on construction project performance. The industry's consensus on construction project performance estimators are well validated by these literatures as time, cost and quality. The findings showed that poorly performing construction projects are characterized by cost and time overruns as evident in high cost of construction, low quality work and time escalations. Research attempts in the industry to respond to these negative impacts on performance have yielded results in terms of precision predicting models for contingency applications and the stationary identification of cost overrun attributive factor.

Given the ability of a Building Information Model (BIM) to serve as a multi-disciplinary data repository, this paper seeks to ex

Within the practice of construction economics, cost-benefit audits are carried out by proprietary audits with the intention of reporting the adequacy of any action and decision taken, meeting planned objective of a project or by efficiency audit which requires a more concise and restrictive investigation (like energy optimization) for its reporting. The efficiency audit system is most appropriate for energy utilization and performance investigation since it seeks to compare actual level of energy uses as against planned targets. This economic audit system of building energy requires that information about the energy designs are collected by means of management information system (MIS), reestablishing the data collected, comparing potential energy financial parameters with actuals, establishing the possible causes of variance. This is often justified or validated by such techniques as budgeted energy cost variance analysis, present value depreciation method, profit variance analysis, and cash flow and financial criteria analysis.