Assessment of heavy construction equipment management practice on road projects: the case of Oromia Construction Corporation

Abstract

Highway Construction Business Is A Sector That Relies Primarily On High Utilization Of Machinery. Equipment Is Thus One Of The Key Factors For Improving Contractor?�?S Capability In Performing Their Work More Effectively And Efficiently. The Purpose Of This Study Was To Assess The Heavy Construction Equipment Management Practices On Construction Projects: Case Study Of Oromia Construction Corporation. The Study Was Done Using Mixed Research Method With A Target Population Of Three Public Road Projects. 47 Questioners Were Distributed To The Projects And 45 Questioners Were Completed And Returned. Descriptive, Inferential And Relative Importance Index Analysis Methods Were Used To Analyze The Collected Data. By Using Statistical Package For Social Science Software Version 23 Questionnaires Reliability Was Estimated By Calculating Cornbrash?�?S Alpha. The Findings Indicated That Unexpected Equipment Breakdown & Down Time, Idle Time, Poor Maintenance Practice And Non Availability Of Spare Part Are The Major Equipment Management Problems. The Study Also Indicate That: Equipment Breakdown, Delay In Payment For Obstruction, Lack Of Training, Spares Not Available, Equipment Efficiency, Lack Of Proper Maintenance, Rework, Routine Checking Overall Productivity Of Equipment, Two Or More Groups Sharing An Equipment, And Delay In Allocating The Equipment Are The Top Factor From Different Groups Those Needs Highly Emphasis To Improve Equipment Efficiency Affect The Productivity Of Equipment On Those Projects. The Study Advise That Using Currently Developed Software And GPS Tracker Those Helps To Manage Inventory, Maintenance Schedule And Equipment Tracking. Also The Study Forward That The Client Should Have To Pay High Attention Before Starting The Construction Of The Project To Decrease Delay And Cost Overrun Of Project Happened Due To Delay Of Payment For Obstruction (Right Of Way) Which Increase Idle Hour And Rework For Equipment?�?S .