Performance assessment of precast concrete systems in the local construction industry for effective project management

Abstract

Speed of construction and tight construction deadlines are major concerns in most building projects. A precast system offers many advantages over in-situ concrete and thus architects, civil engineers and project managers had to promote the use of precast systems in a large number of construction projects. The use of precast concrete throughout the construction project has eventually led to the introduction of innovative management to identify strengths and weakness in relation to increased performance, product reliability, resource efficiency and even cost reduction. After examining various literature regarding precast construction carried out in a number of countries, the researcher questioned such a system in the local market. The main aim of this research was to find out if precast system performance in the local construction industry promotes effective project management. If such a system enhances project management, than why do a number of Engineers/Project managers still adopt cast-in-situ rather than a precast system. The researcher tackled the above proposition by carrying out a qualitative approach in line with a focus group discussion. A number of topics linked to precast systems such as increased resource efficiency, supply chain management, product certification and other issues was deemed influential on this study. Precast performance does not depend mainly on respecting project timelines and cost-effectiveness, but the findings in this study have also indicated that other issues such as resource efficiency and even quality have enhanced project performance. Rightly so, precast system performance in the local construction industry promotes effective project management. Other to this, if such a system supports optimal project management and if the construction design can permit the use of precast elements, architects/engineers/project managers and even clients should make use of precast systems more often than not.