Problems Associated with Material Management. Practice in the Construction Industry

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 64.2, , language: English, abstract: Management of materials has over the years been a great problem to most firms in the construction industry. In construction project operations, there is always a tendency of mismanagement of materials by construction firms. As the size of the contract increases, however, so does the scale of activities concerning materials management. The aim of this research was therefore to investigate into materials management problems faced by construction firms in the Greater Accra Region.

To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set out: To identify the problems in materials management practices by greater Accra firms, to identify the causes of these materials management problems, to identify proper ways of managing materials by construction firms on sites and to suggest ways of solving materials management problems by construction firms.

The research instrument adopted was the use of questionnaires. Fifty-five (55) sets of questionnaires was distributed to various contractors. The sampling technique adopted was the snowball sampling technique. Quantity analysis approach was adopted for the analysis of the data which involved the use of frequency distribution tables and charts. The analysis of the data revealed that high project cost and delay were also some of the effects of improper materials management. Provisions of standard storage facilities, delivery of materials to the site, were some of the factors that most construction firms considered prior to the commencement of works with regards to the storage of materials on site.