International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 8, Issue 5, May 2017, pp.869–880,

pp. Article ID: IJCIET_08_05_096
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FACTORS AFFECTING MATERIAL

MATERIAL
MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
AparnaShruthi E
M.Tech Fellow, Sastra University, Thanjavur,, Tamilnadu, India.
India

Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Sastra University, Thanjavur,
Thanjavur Tamilnadu,
India.

ABSTRACT
Material management function contributes significantly to the success of the
project and is crucial to manage all the materials in construction. For a typical
construction project, materials constitute over 70% of the project cost and may affect
the overall cost if not managed properly. Material management consists of planning,
requirement assessment,, sourcing of materials, purchasing, proper transportation,
inspection, storage and handling, controlling
controlling of materials, reducing wastage and
optimizing the profits by reducing
redu material cost.. The objective of material
management is ensuring the availability of materials at their intended point
poi of use
when needed, at the required quantity and quality. The current research aims to
identify and rank the most significant factors related to material management.
Key words: Material Management,
Management Factors affecting efficiency, RII analysis.
analysis
Cite this Article: AparnaShruthi E and Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian Factors Affecting
Material Management in Construction Industry.
Industry International Journal of Civil
Technology 8(5), 2017, pp. 869–880.
Engineering and Technology,
http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=8&IType=5

1. INTRODUCTION
Materials management is integral to any construction project. Itss major constituents are the
people, procedure andd technology that are used to identify, fy, quantify, acquire, inspect,
transport, receive, store, and preserve
pr the materials and equipment involved in a project.
project The
fast developing economy of our country has resulted in the rapid growth of construction
projects. An analysis of the financial statements of a large number
number of construction firms
indicate that materials account for about 60% of the total project expenditure. Material
management
anagement is important because any significant contribution made in material management
will go a long way in improving the project profitability and rate of return on the investment.

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 Factors Affecting Material Management in Construction Industry

2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review of previous research helped in understanding the objectives, benefits and
process of material management. Ahuja and Dozzi (1994) state that requisition is an integral
step in materials management which goes to show the team’s material requirement before
they can place the purchase order. Purchasing possesses the responsibility to commit projects
for materials through an appropriate vendor (Obiegbu 1999).
Inyang-Udoh (2002) stress that store officers are very important in achieving a well-
developed stock control process since they generate most of the necessary information about
stock in their custody. Koskela and Howell (2002) observe that the management is obsolete
and there exists no underlying theory of project explicitly stated theory on project
management.

3. OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of the study is to research the key factors majorly affecting the
material management efficiency and identify the factors that have the most influence on the
successful and profitable completion of a construction project.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Data was collected from previous literature to determine the most influential factors on
Material management in the construction industry. Data collection for the project was done
through a survey by explorative questionnaire to the respondents involved in daily activities
of construction firms in and around Chennai region in South India. The questionnaire allows
the respondents to rank their answers based on the Likert’s scale. The analysis of these data
was done by a method named Frequency index method as well as Weighted Average method
with the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Software (SPSS).

4.1. Data Collection

The target population included civil engineering firms in and around Chennai, India. The
contractors, project engineers, store in-charge and site supervisors of various construction
projects were targeted for survey. A total number of 110 respondents were surveyed. The
respondents were a mix of Contractors, Project Engineers, Site Supervisors and Store In-
chargers. The shortlisted 40 factors were further filtered based on their significance and
relevance to the current practices and brought down to 23. These factors were classified into a
few main factors and are explained in detail in the following pages. The questionnaire for the
survey was prepared using a Likert’s scale. The respondent is required to rate the factors
based on its importance in their professional opinion and thus, the survey was carried out.
The scale used for rating the factors is as follows,

5 --Strongly Agree
4 --Agree
3 -- Neither Agree Nor Disagree
2 -- Disagree
1 -- Strongly Disagree

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 AparnaShruthi E and Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian

Table 1 Factors displayed in Questionnaire

MAIN FACTORS SUB-FACTORS

1. PLANNING Material Requirements Planning
Organizing& Scheduling Procurement
Site Work Schedule
2. SUPPLIER Identifying & Selecting Suppliers
Skilled Negotiation with Supplier
Cooperation between Contractor & Supplier
Sub-Contracting
3. FINANCE Proper Cash Flow Control
Non-Delay of Payments
4. STAFF Skill & Experience of Material Management team

Presence of Shopkeeper & Security Personnel

5. TRANSPORT Planning Delivery of Materials to Site

6. STORAGE & HANDLING
Site Location & Layout
Proper Storage Practices
Safety during Handling Materials
Storage Space Available
Control of Material Usage & Wastage
Management of Surplus Material

7. MANAGEMENT Use of Material Management Software

Proper Inspection & Documentation of Materials
Ensuring Quality of Materials
Implementing a Safety Program
8. ENVIRONMENT Severe Weather Conditions

5. DATA ANALYSIS
5.1. Cronbach’s Alpha
To determine the internal reliability, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated. Cronbach’s alpha for
110 samples was determined. The results of Cronbach’s Alpha indicate internal construct
consistency of the data and its reliability. The most sensible Cronbach’s alpha value ranges
from 0 to 1 with 0.75.

5.2. Frequency Analysis

Frequency analysis is done using the software, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS). Frequency distribution table is a table listing each distinct value of some variable and
the number of times it occurs in some dataset.

5.3. RII Ranking Analysis

The data included 23 factors to be analyzed. Relative Importance Index(RII) method was
used to find strength of index familiarity and frequencies. Ranking was done using the
Likert’s Scale and top ten factors were identified.

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 Factors Affecting Material Management in Construction Industry

RII = ΣW (0 ≤ RII ≤ 1) (1)

B∗N
Where,
W – is the weight given by the respondents to each factor, it ranges from 1 to 5
B – is the highest weight (5 in this case)
N – is the number of respondents in total (110 in this case).

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

6.1. Cronbach’s Alpha
The Cronbach’s Alpha for Reliability was determined for 110 samples as 0.778. Many
methodologists recommend a minimum α coefficient between 0.65 and 0.8. This shows that
the questionnaire data is reliable.

Figure 1 Cronbach’s Alpha Result

7. FREQUENCY ANALYSIS
The frequency analysis was done for all 23 factors listed in the questionnaire and the results
are as follows.

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 AparnaShruthi E and Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian

Table 2 Material Requirements Planning

Table 3 Organizing & Scheduling Procurement

Table 4 Site Work Schedule

Table 5 Identifying & selecting Suppliers

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 Factors Affecting Material Management in Construction Industry

Table 6 Skilled Negotiation with Supplier

Table 7 Cooperation between Contractor & Supplier

Table 8 Sub-Contracting

Table 9 Proper Cash flow Control

Table 10 Non Delay of Payments

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 AparnaShruthi E and Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian

Table 11 Skill & Experience of Material Management team

Table 12 Presence of Shopkeeper & Security Personnel

Table 13 Planning Delivery of Materials to Site

Table 14 Site Location & Layout

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 Factors Affecting Material Management in Construction Industry

Table 15 Proper Storage Practices

Table 16 Safety during Handling Materials

Table 17 Storage Space Available

Table 18 Control of Material Usage & Wastage

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 AparnaShruthi E and Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian

Table 19 Management of Surplus Material

Table 20 Use of Material Management Software

Table 21 Proper Inspection & Documentation of Materials

Table 22 Ensuring Quality of Materials

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 Factors Affecting Material Management in Construction Industry

Table 23 Implementing a Safety Program

Table 24 Severe Weather Conditions

8. RII RANKING RESULTS

Table 25 RII Ranking Results
S.No. FACTOR RII RANK
1. Material Requirements Planning 0.778 1
2. Proper Cash Flow Control 0.787 2
3. Identifying & Selecting Suppliers 0.712 3
4. Organizing & Scheduling 0.700 4
5. Skilled Negotiation with Suppliers 0.699 5
6. Non-Delay of Payments 0.699 6
7. Skill & Experience of Material Mgmt. team 0.640 7
8. Planning Delivery of Materials to Site 0.637 8
9. Proper Inspection & Documentation of Materials 0.636 9
10. Site Location & Layout 0.624 10
11. Ensuring Quality of Materials 0.623 11
12. Site Work Schedule 0.619 12
13. Proper Storage Practices 0.611 13
14. Cooperation between Contractor & Supplier 0.606 14
15. Storage Space Available 0.598 15
16. Safety during Handling Materials 0.588 16
17. Control of Material Usage & Wastage 0.571 17
18. Presence of Shopkeeper & Security Personnel 0.553 18
19. Sub-Contracting 0.531 19
20. Implementing a Safety Program 0.530 20
21. Management of Surplus Materials 0.522 21
22. Use of Material Management Software 0.508 22
23. Severe Weather Conditions 0.495 23

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 AparnaShruthi E and Dr.C.Venkatasubramanian

The most important factors listed in the result are explained as follows:

9. MATERIAL REQUIREMENT PLANNING

Material Requirement Planning is the planning, scheduling and inventory control process
used to manage the materials. Material Requirements planning ensures that materials are
available for construction and maintain the lowest possible material in the stores and site. It
also plans construction activities, material delivery schedules and purchasing activities.
Material planning is a major function of material management which is closely linked with
project planning and control. Scheduling the material program is crucial to meeting the
project deadline.

9.1. Proper Cash Flow Control

Cash flow control consists of fund usage planning, budget monitoring and evaluation of the
results. The proper utilization and adequate cash flow positively impact the success of a
project. There must be a recognized system of procedures by which, deviations and their
extent are identified.

9.2. Identifying and Selecting Suppliers

This entails identifying right suppliers who can provide the materials, equipment, and
services required for the project. A thorough knowledge about the construction industry,
procedures, materials to acquire, and all existing suppliers in the market are needed. Site
visits to the supplier locations must be performed to qualify and certify suppliers and also
perform background checks.

9.3. Organizing & Scheduling the Procurement

The material management organization must be structured to facilitate the timely
performance of the work. Sources are developed for material procurement by floating enquiry
indents. It is processed by the material management personnel and are used for inviting
quotations with samples of materials where required.

9.4. Skilled Negotiation with Supplier

Material Management professionals negotiate to create favorable terms in a new contract.
Negotiation involves negotiating new terms with an existing supplier when the old contract is
renewed, or discussing new terms with a brand new vendor. Negotiations are used for
determining price, payment terms, delivery procedures, production time and quality
standards. The negotiations need to consider the best option for both parties involved which
will help to build stronger relationships with suppliers.

10. CONCLUSION
The research has thoroughly examined all the factors affecting material management in the
construction industry. This research identifies the following as major factors for effective
management, material requirements planning, proper cash flow control, identifying and
selecting suppliers, organizing and scheduling the procurement, skilled negotiation with
suppliers, non-delay of payments, skill and experience of material management team,
planning delivery of materials to site, proper inspection and documentation of materials and
site location and layout.

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 Factors Affecting Material Management in Construction Industry

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