Simukonda, W and Kamwela, N (2021) The management of theft and vandalism on construction jobsites in the southern region of Malawi. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 5(1), pp. 47-59. ISSN 2521-0165
Abstract
The phenomenon of theft and vandalism on construction job sites in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has not been fully explored to guarantee the implementation of evidence-based security management practices (SMPs) to minimise losses and improve projects' profitability margins. This study investigated the management of theft and vandalism by large contractors in the Southern Region of Malawi to identify implementation issues that need improvement. A quantitative approach using an empirical survey-based questionnaire was adopted. 44 SMPs identified from the literature review were tested by data collected from a sample survey of 40 large contractors in the Southern Region of Malawi. The descriptive statistical method of mean score ranking was used to analyse the data through IBM Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Among the five-point Likert scale agreement measurements used, 11 SMPs were found to be "always used", 12 SMPs "often used", 15 SMPs "sometimes used", and six SMPs "rarely used". Overall, the top three highly ranked SMPs (in descending order) were inventorying construction materials, tools and equipment, termination of employment for offenders, and reporting theft and vandalism to enforcement agencies. Contrariwise, the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV), alarm systems and access control systems (ACS) was the least ranked SMPs. The contractors' management improvements for theft and vandalism would need to focus on implementing proactive anti-theft and anti-vandalism SMPs whose choice should be informed by comprehensive Jobsite security risk assessment. Dissemination of the results may help contractors understand their security management strategies and implement practical solutions for curbing theft and vandalism on job sites to minimise its endemic effect on contractors' financial performance.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | theft; vandalism; security management practices; Likert scale; Malawi |
| Index terms: | agency, Likert scale, questionnaire, evidence, dissemination, financial performance, survey, strategy, vandalism, literature review, Sub-Saharan Africa, guarantee, theft, security management, Malawi, enforcement, implementation, statistical method, profitability, risk assessment, construction material, social science, security management practice, access control, employment, package |
| Subjects: | financial risk, knowledge translation, health safety and environment, Geography, business analysis, management, physical geography and landforms, theoretical framing, contract structure, statistical analysis, sociology, criminal law, control systems, evaluation and assessment methods, data collection methods, economic analysis, construction operations, contractual arrangements, data analysis and analytics, operations management, building materials |
| Topics: | Procurement, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Site Management, Legal Issues, Human Resources |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here