Assessment of Pakistani Construction Industry – Current Performance and the Way Forward

Abstract

The Pakistani Construction Industry has always been of economic and social significance to the country. In contrast to the prospective share of Pakistani construction in the local and global economic market, conversely, the development of the sector has not been at par with the market demands. With the recent rapid economic growth of the country, Pakistan now offers a growing market for the construction industry. The Government of Pakistan has responded to this opportunity by planning extensive infrastructure expansion programs. All of these programs have the potential to lead the local Industry to establish respect, status and international recognition when the appropriate efforts are extended to achieve the same. Even with the opportunity for growth the challenges will be extensive. This research presents the current state of performance of Pakistani Construction Industry and provides directions for strategic improvement of the construction industry on a sustainable basis. Major findings of the research include: a cultural and behavioral shift in the mind-set of all participants in the construction process especially top management is necessary if the construction industry is to improve its performance and competitiveness; the “boom cycle” and corresponding shortage of labor trades has increased the need for industry participants to adopt and apply construction project management philosophy, tools and techniques to help them manage the industry performance and productivity in a sustainable long-term mode. The major obstacles to improving the performance of Pakistani construction industry were found to be lack of expertise/resources in construction project management and its applied areas. A rigid attitude and behavior of executive management toward quality, safety and risk management, plus more management and emphasis on employees’ commitment toward project performance, better education and training to drive the improvement process, and tendency to cure the cause of the problem rather than the symptom. If coordination, teamwork, productivity and industry performance in the long run is going to improve, then extensive awareness and training programs to improve the clients’ understanding and approach toward construction project management must be initiated without exception.

Identification of the H&S (Health and Safety Factors) Involved in Infrastructure Projects in Developing Countries-A Sequential Mixed Method Approach of OLMT-Project

“…The interviewee of AREA 1,4,8, and 11 said that there was no need for the OLMT-project route in their areas, but the interview of AREA 2,3,5,6,7,9,10,12, and 13 said that they were optimistic regarding the future benefit that this will facilitate in travelling and there was a need of public transport in this area. Zaman (2012) clarifies, in his study, that there was an increase in transport on roads in urban areas of Malaysia which was causing severe traffic congestion, air pollution, and deteriorating the environment of cities [57]; the same situation has accrued within Lahore [54]. Most of these nodes were common in all areas of the OLMT-project.…”

“…The condition becomes worst when rain (1)(2)(3)(4)6,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12) happens due to God's will situation [17,32]. The interviewee of all areas elaborated that there is an increase in population due to which current services did not fulfill the transport requirements of people, which means there was a lack of public transport [54] and lack of public transport results in an increase of private transport [22,55].…”

“…However, at the start of the project, due to poor planning [43] and keeping them uninformed and not considering issues of stakeholder resulted in limited information, lack of awareness, and scope creep [56]. Support contractors and sub-contractors did not follow the safety rules and practices due to poor planning and lack of technical knowledge and material [64], which triggers unsafe work practices [54]. Limited information and unsafe work practices lead to the poor condition of roads, hazardous situations, piles of material, and combinedly prompt unsafe/poor conditions [15,65].…”

Modeling the Relationship between Safety Climate and Safety Performance in a Developing Construction Industry: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study

“…It was, therefore, ranked as the second most injury-prone industry in Pakistan, after agriculture. These accidents also resulted in cost overruns, construction delays, extended non-appearance of workers at worksites, lower productivity and conflicts between the key stakeholders in the CI [ 30 , 31 ]. More specifically, the construction companies working on building projects, despite following various safety management systems, are persistently suffering from fatal accidents, mostly due to fall from height and electrocution [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Assessment of Change Orders Attributes in Preconstruction and Construction Phase

“…Whereas, services contribute 79.3% of GDP, construction 6.1%, production 14.0% and agriculture as 0.7% [1]. Contending the facts in developing country like Pakistan 30-35% of employment is affiliated with the construction industry, this proves as a tool for revival of economy [2]. Consorting, almost all construction projects up to some extent vary from original design, scope and definition depending upon the various factors; whether its small or large but it occurs in every project [3].…”