Nwankwo, D C (2023) Improving approaches to material inventory management in construction industry in the UK. DBA thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK.
Abstract
Materials used in construction constitute a major proportion of the total cost of construction projects. An important factor of great concern that adversely affects construction projects is the location and tracking of materials, which normally come in bulk with minimal identification. There is inadequate integration of modern wireless technologies (such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or Just-in-Time (JIT)) into project management systems for easier and faster materials management and tracking and to overcome human error. This research focuses on improving approaches to material inventory management in the UK construction industry through the formulation of RFID-based materials management tracking process system with projects. Existing literature review identified many challenges/problems in material inventory management on construction projects, such as supply delays, shortages, price fluctuations, wastage and damage, and insufficient storage space. Six construction projects were selected as exploratory case studies and cross-case analysis was used to investigate approaches to material inventory management practices: problems, implementation of ICT, and the potential for using emerging wireless technologies and systems (such as RFID and PDA) for materials tracking. Findings showed that there were similar problems of storage constraints and logistics with most of the construction projects. The synthesis of good practices required the implementation of RFID-facilitated construction management of materials tracking system to make material handling easier, quicker, more efficient and less paperwork. There was also a recommendation to implement Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to integrate plant, labour and materials into one system. The findings from the cases studies and the literature review were used to formulate a process for real-time material tracking using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) that can improve material inventory management in the UK construction industry. Testing and validation undertaken assisted in formulating a process that can be useful, functional and acceptable for a possible process system's development. Finally, research achievements/contributions to knowledge, and limitations were discussed and some suggestions for further research were outlined.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | radio frequency identification; inventory; communication; information and communication technology; integration; just-in-time; logistics; material handling; materials management; UK; case study; validation; construction project |
| Index terms: | good practice, case study, radio frequency identification, inventory, project management, implementation, testing, construction industry, literature review, information and communication technology, shortages, materials management, material handling, validation, just-in-time, cross-case analysis, integration, management practice, construction project |
| Subjects: | economic analysis, professional practice, product delivery, contractual arrangements, operations management, digital technology, lean logistics, production management, inventory management, data analysis and analytics, computing systems, data collection methods, industry analysis, organizational analysis, professional development, project management theory and practice, management, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Procurement, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Site Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy |
| 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