Logistic systems are the key to a construction site as it enhances the efficiency and productivity of the project and reduces the overall cost of the project significantly. Logistics defines the movement of equipment and material to the formulation place to the worker, who need those products. Effective logistic system also allows the organization to arrive the material on time and undamaged. Valero et al. (15988-16008.) states that in construction project the logistics is said to be comprised of effective planning, accurate execution of the plan, control of procurement, transport, and stationing of all the materials and workers. All these planning on successful execution allow a constriction organization to achieve the desired goals of a project. However, some issues are always there that due to which the working procedure in the construction sites gets hamper. Taken for instance, absence of carne in construction site delay the work of installation crews for the precast panels; while, on the other hand, if panels are late for installation, job responsibilities of plumbers, electricians and drywall erectors will also get delayed. This adversity slows down the overall performance of the construction project. In this chapter the factors due to which logistics can impact the construction will be discussed.
Logistics can be defined as a management of supply chain and supply chain on the other hand can be defined as network of organization that is linked through information flows bounded with an entire project life cycle (Matouzko). This procedure follows the flow of raw materials through processing and handling of the products till the final product formulation which is followed by the procedure of products distribution and sales to customers. Kumar and Cheng (24-37) highlighted that some logistics also emphasizes on the waster utilization and also considers the process as a part of their operation. Thus, the key individuals of the supply chain in construction site are manufacturers, wholesalers or dealers, contractors and owners or users and employers. There are three kind of flowing elements that are mainly focused in construction logistics- information flow, material flow and finance flow.
Image 1: Supply chain of materials and participants of a project
(Source: Ekeskar and Rudberg)
Moreover, Ekeskar and Rudberg also stated that there are three kind of logistic systems model in building companies:
Logistic system has huge significance in the completion of a construction project. There are several factors that impact the construction project like planning delays that also extends the delivery times, consolidated warehouses, poor logistic system and irresponsibility of construction manager.
Planning delays
Dongping, and Wu (138-149) stated that every construction project has a deadline within which the project has to be completed. All the timelines of project are planned in advance with all the required material. Konikov and Konikov mentioned that the prime advantage that is attained from effective planning is significant saving from wastage and storage of enough inventory. Loosemore (133-144) also highlight that, all the construction vehicles route are also planned effectively through which the vehicle reach to the destination site. In such cases, if the products are delayed at the manufacturing site, the vehicles have to wait till the manufacturing process is done which furthermore delays the entire construction project. On the other hand, Kelly et al. stated that on-way issues like accidents also results in destruction of raw materials that results in extra cost for preparing another slot of construction materials. Moreover, a mentioned above, delay is starting the project also delay in all the workers responsibility like plumber, electricians which will hamper the profitability of the organization and delay the entire project.
Delivery times
It is evident that projects like mega constructions take more time than the assigned deadline. Dongping, and Wu (138-149) stated that one of the reason for delay is the improper logistic management system. There are many reasons for such delays like wrong documentation due to the improper communication among the stakeholders. Memon et al. (4494-4502.) on the other hand argued that delay can be occurred both from manufacturing site or receiving sites. Custom inspection and police verification need some time which results in more delay of the construction project. Irizarry et al. (241-254) mentioned that it is not possible to know all the criteria and that varies from location to location. Megaprojects mostly hire some expert organizations that are sometimes from distant places. In such cases, the verification clearance time delays the distribution process. Murray highlighted another fact that is terminal congestion due to heavy traffic jams especially in festive season. In addition to that, product reaction due to weather changes is another big issue which destroys the composition of the raw material that delays the construction process.
Dongping, and Wu (138-149) depicted that in recent times, when there is a scarcity of empty places, many organization decides to keep consolidated warehouse. The reason behind that is they struggle to keep up with the insatiable storage demands of end-users as they regularly update new inventories. Thus, these organization faces from the effect of storage sprawl both in inventory and computer database as all the updates has to be made on the system for tracking details of all the products and end- materials. Loosemore (133-144) stated that this proliferation of storage assets leads to four great problems- increase in storage management overhead, strain on facilities like power and cooling, potential security vulnerabilities and expense of new storage. However, all these adversities have to be resolved by the managers that lead to delay in the entire distribution process of the construction project. Kikwasi depict that lack of preparation for emergency is another reason for which the distribution of the raw material get delayed to the construction site. Natural emergencies like fire and earthquake will affect the entire consolidated warehouse.
In addition to that, in case of construction consolidation centers, logistic system get significant benefit like reduce construction waste and carbon emissions, reduction in congestion and noise pollution (Charpentier). The major concept emphasizes on full packing load on the vehicles so that more materials can be distribute through one vehicle. Lundesjo highlight that reduction in the number of construction vehicles results in reduced time for supply journey time and CO2 emissions. Thus, logistic system in construction site should decreasing the number of small direct deliveries for improved working environment and less traffic and faster delivery of all the assigned materials to the construction site.
Poor logistic system
Kikwasi stated that in recent times, there are many technologies that ensure the effectiveness of the logistics system. There are two cases of the supply chain management system where delay can occur- delivery lead time and production lead time. New technology like tracking the movements of the vehicles and all the products loaded in the vehicles. However, Dongping, and Wu (138-149) argued that not all organizations are able to incorporate these technological advances due to high cost. As a result, the time taken for transfer a product from distribution centre to the end users and from supplier to the distribution centre become significantly high. Apart from time issues, improper tracking details leads to stealing of products while distribution process. This course of action also results in lack of proper inventory as per as the planning of the entire supply chain and logistics system. This delays the construction project due to lack of materials. Irizarry et al. (241-254) also highlight that poor planning f the logistic system also considers staffing problems. This is evident that if there are not sufficient staffs in every department of the logistic system, the entire system is not properly maintained and delay occurs which hampers the final construction project.
Irresponsibility of construction manager
Construction managers are liable to assess the timely delivery of all the assigned materials to the site. It is the responsibility if the manager to inform the warehouse personal or to the authority if some delay occur. Dongping, and Wu (138-149) stated that delays occur when a delivery process obtained later than the scheduled time. The main two aspects that the construction managers often overlook are- production output and operational problems. Selection of appropriate vehicles, fleets is also the job responsibility of the construction manager that they have to maintain in order to avoid the disruption of transport operations. However, in most of the cases, the managers often overlook the lead time along with the equipment scheduling. Sears, Keoki, et al. also highlight that in automation system the managers always check the updates on computer monitor and assume that everything will occur hassle free. In real time, the scenario is different, due to lack of training these managers are unable to operate the automation machine and cannot handle the adversity occur in the distribution process. All these aspect leads to the delay in delivering of the final product to the construction site. Another job responsibility of the construction project manager is to sets up the estimates and budgets apart from the construction timetable. Destruction in raw materials results in sanctioning of extra budget for new materials that need verification from the higher authority of the organization. This verification need times and the manager have to give proper justification for extra budget, this delay the entire process which impacts on the entire logistic system to provide the end-products to the construction site.
Incorporation of technology
Automation technology improves the logistic system as it evaluates the entire distribution system accurately and effectively. Fleet management monitoring systems is one of the technologies that can be incorporate in the logistic system that also allow the organization to create real-time monitoring and interaction with the fleet. This technology also incorporate with technology like mobile communication, GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning System) which measures the position of the vehicle with greater accuracy.
Improving warehousing efficiency
It is important for the warehouse to utilize the vertical space rather than the footprint of the warehouse. All the material should be incorporated with RFID tags so that any stealing and misplacement of the product can be noticed easily. In this way, all the planned material can be stocked till distribution. The staffs should also be trained appropriately so that they can also handle the automated technology and maintain the logistic process.
Summary
Logistic plays an important role in the construction site as they are liable to distribute the materials to the construction site. The research aims for evaluating the factors that affects the logistics in construction projects. It is concluded from the literature review that planning delays, greater delivery times, consolidated warehouses and construction consolidation centers, poor logistic system and irresponsibility of construction manager are some factors that affects the logistics in construction projects. It is also concluded that planning is required for successfully delivering the allocated number of construction materials but poor planning may lead to delay in the logistic system. Moreover, problem like customer verification, police verification and natural calamity also delay the logistic delivery. In addition to that, ineffective monitoring of materials that are in the inventory is another issue that impacts the logistic system and hence it is recommended to use automation technology and train the managers also to effectively use the system so the location of the material can be noticed. In addition to that, the consolidate warehouse system offers some advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that all the materials are available at single location and no distributed location has to be covered by the vehicles which reduce the delivery time of the logistics system. On the either hand, problem like robbery or natural calamity hampers the entire materials that delay the instruction project further as the end material also to be remanufactured. However, the adversity can be resolved through effective maintenance and emergency handling plans in the warehouse.
Reference List
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Charpentier, Will. “Duties & Responsibilities For A Construction Project Manager.” Work.chron.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 2017
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Fang, Dongping, and Haojie Wu. “Development of a Safety Culture Interaction (SCI) model for construction projects.” Safety science 57 (2013): 138-149.
Irizarry, Javier, Ebrahim P. Karan, and Farzad Jalaei. “Integrating BIM and GIS to improve the visual monitoring of construction supply chain management.” Automation in Construction 31 (2013): 241-254.
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Kikwasi, Geraldine. “Causes and effects of delays and disruptions in construction projects in Tanzania.” Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building-Conference Series. Vol. 1. No. 2. 2013.
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