Abstract
The aim of the study was to analyze the project cost control mechanisms utilized in the road construction sector in Lusaka. Road construction projects often are not completed on time resulting to cost overruns. Cost overrun is the increased cost compared to the actual cost of construction as per the cost estimation in the initial project planning. Various factors such as scope changes, a major design error, and inaccurate project cost estimates, and poor planning can delay project completion time and cost a thousands of dollars. The objectives of this study were to examine the cost management practices performed in the road construction sector, ii) examine how management cost practices affect project performance, iii) establish mitigation measures that can enhance cost performance in road construction. The research design that was used was mixed methods took the form of using a case study and observation of people in their everyday lives. The target population was 60 employees from the organization and individual participants working in different departments. Description design was also used to enhance the validity of the research results in that the method allowed the researcher to stay very close to the empirical world and state the affairs as it exists. The following were the major findings in this study: i) Gender – 25% of the respondents were females and 75% males. ii) Age of the participants- 45% were between 20-35 years, 20% between 36 – 45 years and 35% above 46 years. iii) Qualifications and level of education. 10% of the participants obtained post- graduate and above qualifications, 35% had bachelors and 55% obtained diplomas and certificates. iv) Work experience- 65% accounted for those who had worked between 1 and 16 years, 20% accounted for those who worked between 16 and 35 years, while 15% recorded for those worked for 36 years and above. v) Marital status. 25% of those who participated in the survey were single while 75% were married and were the majority. vi) Status of engagement. 25% accounted for those who were on permanent basis, 55% was recorded for those on temporal and 20% accounted for those on contracts. vii) Level of engagement. 55% was recorded for those working in technical areas and were the majority, 35 % for those in middle management while 10% in senior management. viii) Occurrence of cost overruns. 62% of the participants said it was very low, 4% said it was low, 10% said it was medium, 4% also said it was very low, while 20% said very high. ix) Effectiveness of cost management practices performed in the road construction sector. 40% strongly agree that it was effective, 35% agreed, 15% disagree, 4% were not sure, and 6% strongly disagree. x) Project cost practices affect project performance. 78% said yes and 22% said no. xi) How cost overrun affect projects. 50% said it affected completion time, 37% said it affected quality of the deliverables, and 10% said it dented the contractor image while 3% said it had no effect. xii) Measures that can enhance cost performance in road construction. The first scenario was based on introducing strong management skills. 50% strongly agree that these are needed, 25% also agree, 6% strongly disagree, 4% were not sure and 15% disagreed. The second scenario was to set clear goals. 60% strongly agree that these are needed, 20% also agree, while 8% strongly disagree, 10% disagreed and 2% were not sure. The third scenario as a mitigation measure was to come up with a well-developed and well communicated budget. 40% strongly agree, 30% agree, 3% not sure, 7% strongly disagree, and 20% disagree,
Going by this study’s findings, it was concluded that the top factors influencing construction cost management are; experience and competence project managers, weak management support and control, poor project communications, external economic environment, lack of use of project management tools, poor leadership and coordinating skills, underutilization of plant and equipment, excessive material wastages on site and material thefts on site. Further also that all the assessed factors influence cost management and that cost management is highly beneficial to projects and organizations in construction industry. Effective implementation of cost management practices has a very high impact on the survival and sustenance of construction firms. Finally, effective cost management implementation on construction projects ensures that the budget is not exceeded leading to stakeholder satisfaction, timely delivery of work and less conflict.