Factors Affecting Constructability Practices in Hydropower Construction in Nepal

Nowadays, the construction industry lacks constructability, which causes many problems, such as increased cost and time required for constructing a project, reduced productivity of project personnel and equipment, and low-quality construction (Nima et al., 2002). In this connection, it is worthwhile to investigate the drawbacks of the existing practices and application of constructability concepts.

Systematic application of constructability concepts will enhance constructability of a project. Consequently, schedule, quality and cost are optimized and all the parties are benefitted from the project. Nepal is practicing constructability concepts in hydropower development however these concepts are not recognized with importance by the key practitioners. Mr. Mukesh Khadka made a case study which objectives were broadly divided into following three parts:

i. To find out constructability concepts and implementation barriers applicable for different phases of hydropower project namely conceptual planning, design and procurement, and construction/field operation.

ii. To identify the degree of importance, level of application and major implementation barriers of constructability concepts in hydropower construction in Nepal.

iii. To propose recommendations for the effective application of constructability concepts in the hydropower project construction in Nepal.

Conclusions

1. Identification of constructability concepts and implementation barriers

For Nepal, thirty-six constructability concepts suitable for hydropower projects are identified out of which seven concepts are suitable for implementation during conceptual and planning phase, twenty-one concepts for design and procurement phase, and last eight concepts are suitable during construction or field operation phase. In hydropower industry, 49 implementation barriers were obtained from expert review and play key role to deter the implementation of constructability concept.

2. Identification of degree of importance, level of application and major implementation barriers

The result of this study confirmed that six concepts are very important constructability concepts in overall respondents’ opinions. The very important constructability concepts are (1) provide detail and clear design information, (2) investigate the impacts of design on safety during construction, (3) documentation of works of good contractors based on quality and time, (4) carry out thorough investigation of the site, (5) evaluation, documentation and feedback of the issues of the constructability concept, and (6) technical specification. Remaining thirty constructability concepts is accepted as important constructability concepts for hydropower construction in Nepal.

The research has also revealed that none of the concepts are being highly applied in hydropower construction in Nepal. All constructability concepts are believed as concept with medium application except three concepts namely, (1) innovation on temporary construction materials/systems, (2) employ any visualization tools such as 3D CAD to avoid physical interference, and (3) design to avoid return visit by trade which fall into category of concepts with little application.

During the study, major constructability implementation barriers were identified and ranked as top ten implementation barriers. These barriers were further grouped into three dimensions named as (1) Ineffective communication and coordination, (2) Socio-political influences, and (3) Insufficient resources using factor analysis. Ineffective communication and coordination between parties may cause conflicts that could eventually impact the project constructability adversely leading to dissatisfaction of the project parties, reworks, variation orders and claims. Not following the execution plan of the project may hamper the critical path of the project thereby causing the time and cost overrun of the project. Socio-political influences are the major barriers of hampering implementation of constructability concepts. Disruption by local people and road strikes imposing various reasonable and sometimes unreasonable causes seriously hamper the project constructability. Insufficient resources due to limited project budget also hinder the implementation of constructability concept. Due to lack of incentives given to the employees, it is very difficult to implement the constructability improvement concepts as employees are the key player for applying them.

Recommendations

Further study is recommended for the following subjects:
• Further study considering large number of hydropower projects of various sizes, different financing models and identification of specific barriers for each constructability concept is necessary in milieu of developing guidelines for hydropower projects

• Further study can be extended to find the detail procedures for effective application of those constructability concepts in hydropower construction and to find the most suitable contracting approach which facilitates effective constructability application.

• A study on suitability of constructability issues in various kinds of contracting approach can be done.

His thesis abstract is copied and pasted.

Abstract

Nepal has favorable condition to develop numerous hydropower plants yet it is facing eighteen hour load shedding per day during dry season. Traditional approach adopted in Nepal for hydropower construction involves many problems such as design changes, reworks, poor safety practices, time delays, cost overruns, disputes, claims which hampers constructability of the project. In this context, it is worthwhile to conduct research which focuses on investigation of the degree of importance and level of application of constructability concepts and identifying the major barriers hindering effective implementation of those concepts. The findings would be appropriate for the preparation of baseline required in constructability improvement guideline for hydropower construction in Nepal.

Thirty-six constructability concepts and forty-nine implementation barriers related to hydropower construction in Nepal were selected for detail study after extensive literature review and expert verification. Through questionnaire survey, opinions on those constructability concepts and implementation barriers were collected from fifty-three managers/engineers associated with hydropower developers, consulting firms and construction companies involved in hydropower construction in Nepal. The quantitative data gathered were then analyzed using various statistical techniques to conclude and recommend further studies. The result of this study revealed that six constructability concepts were accepted as very important concepts by overall respondents and the remaining concepts were considered to be important. To the contrary, none of the concepts are being highly applied in hydropower construction in Nepal. Further, ten major constructability implementation barriers were identified and grouped as ineffective communication and coordination, socio-political influences, and insufficient resources using factor analysis.

The effective implementation of constructability concepts in hydropower projects in Nepal can be attained by developing guidelines for the application of those concepts. For preparation of the guidelines the concepts identified by the study need to be verified with hydropower projects of various sizes and different financing models and detail procedures for applying those concepts should be documented. Also, identification of specific barriers for each constructability concept is necessary in milieu of developing guidelines for hydropower projects.

Keywords: constructability, buidability, implementation barriers, hydropower, Nepal