The effectiveness of the joint building contracts committee principal building agreement in the South African built environment
- Authors: Mokhojane, K’homotho Nester
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Construction contracts -- South Africa , Buildings -- Specifications -- South Africa , Construction industry -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/42019 , vital:36618
- Description: Government investment in infrastructure development in South Africa is set to increase in the next few years to facilitate its mandate of radical economic transformation; contractually there is no margin for error in the execution of infrastructure projects. With a rising inflation, low economic growth and high unemployment, greater need for service delivery and an ever-increasing level of competition, contractor profit margins on are dwindling year on year. Things should not go wrong during construction but often do which results in serious reputational damage to all members involved, companies being liquidated, leaving workers in a desperate plea for employment and leaving them and their families facing poverty in the face. The choice and understanding of a particular contract is very important. The Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) concentrates primarily on the compilation of contract documentation aimed at an equitable distribution of contractual risk in the building industry. The suite is approved by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and is used by Local Government, District Municipalities, Provincial and National Departments and the Private Sector. The Principal Building Agreement (PBA) is the cornerstone of the JBCC Suite of documents. For the purpose of the research, only JBCC PBA will be the focus area. Contract documents have to be reviewed and revised regularly. Regular revisions to the JBCC contract documentation suite aim to ensure that available documentation remains current. Construction contracts have evolved into standard contract forms. This is not only because of their advantages of familiarity and the prohibitive cost of customisation but also to provide certainty on the nature of the transaction between the contracting parties on a construction project. The study found that the JBCC PBA Edition 6.1 of March 2014 is not widely used, as stakeholders largely prefer to utilise its predecessors, Edition 4.1 of March 2005 and Edition 5.0 of July 2007. The lack of usage could be attributed to prevailing negative perceptions by the users on the contractual risks involved. The study found that contractual risk is better mitigated than in previous JBCC PBA Editions. Furthermore, there are some areas of concern identified where the JBCC PBA document could be further enhanced to improve its overall effectiveness as a contract management tool. The discovered that the JBCC PBA Edition 6.1 standard form of contract are compiled in the interests of standardisation and aim to portray the consensus concerning good practice and an equitable distribution of contractual risk. The findings will help all stakeholders in the South African Building Industry to better understand the implications, benefits and improve their understanding of the JBCC PBA, especially Construction Project Managers employed by the State at different levels, either Local Government, District Municipality, Provincial Departments and National Departments. It will also be beneficial to Architects, Construction Project Managers, Construction Managers, Quantity Surveyors and Engineers operating as consultants, contractors or academics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Measuring the competitiveness of small, medium and micro enterprice contractors through the use of the register of contractors
- Authors: Gasa, Zanele Bridgette Nompumelelo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Construction industry -- South Africa , Construction contracts -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9699 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1014325
- Description: This research focuses on and summarises the methodology followed to demonstrate that the South African construction industry can use the Construction Registers Service, in particular the Register of Contractors, as a tool to measure the competitiveness of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs). The Register of Contractors (RoC) was developed by the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) in terms of the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) Act 38 of 2000. As a tool, it was designed to offer a basis for sustainable constructor development, growth, improved delivery, performance and sustainable empowerment. It was also developed to be used by the construction industry to, inter alia, and provide statistical data which would enable the construction industry to better understand the contracting capacity in South Africa. Beyond providing the statistical data, the register of contractors was meant to be enhanced with functionalities that would measure the growth and performance of contractors as they apply business practices that improve their value offering to the construction industry as a whole. This research looks at how this tool can be used by the construction industry to measure the competitiveness of the contractors within the selected grades, with the intent of demonstrating the overall value of the RoC as a tool. The research undertaken looks at how the use of the RoC can measure the competitiveness of a targeted group of small contractors. The research limits itself to the entry levels of contractors registered with the cidb between grades 2 and 5 with a view to establish a benchmark for contractor competitiveness within those bands. The research further proves the correlation between contractor capability and the ‘ability’ to be competitive in growing their value proposition and businesses. The unit of study for the purposes of this research is at firm level drawing from a reflection on who is an active participant in the South African construction industry particularly as it pertains to the smaller contractors within the targeted group elucidated above. The focus of the research is on the efficacy of the RoC as a tool that identifies the areas needing targeted development to support SMMEs and the subsequent demonstration of improved business processes within that sector. The qualitative research methodology was followed through this study as its nature was such that there was no requirement to rely only entirely on statistics or numbers due to the articulated problem there needed to be a qualitative enquiry into data needed which would adequately land to a significant synthesis on the responses and arrive at suitable solutions to the identified problem. The qualitative research methodology followed by this study was used to gain insight into the construction SMMEs’ attitudes towards the sector within which they trade, their behaviours, their value systems [to the extent where this was possible], their concerns, their motivations and aspirations. All of these, the study concluded that they inform the business decisions which the SMMEs make. How structured information was collected and analysed provided a synthesis of themes and aided in extracting meaning. The main findings of the research were that there is no shared understanding within the local construction industry of what contractor competitiveness is and to what extent it would benefit both the industry and the SMME sector. As a result of this competitiveness could not be measured and there was no clarity as to what tools of measure could be used to forecast the capabilities of the industry. This research was focused on exploring how the RoC can be used to measure improved capability and competitiveness on the part of SMME contractors. The implications of these findings are that there would now be improved and measurable competitiveness allowing the contractors to bid for work both within their provincial regions but also outside of their geographical location and to measure their growth as they achieve higher grading statuses within the register of contractors (RoC). The efficacy of contractor development programmes would also improve as they go beyond enhancing contractor capacity but also include competence improvements, training for business acumen, improved capability and innovation. The conclusion is that South Africa’s construction industry could achieve sustainable development and growth as a result of SMME contractors whose competitiveness would have been measured through the use of the RoC tool. The main recommendation is that there be a clear understanding of competitiveness and what its benefits to the South African construction industry are whilst at the same time the RoC is acknowledged as the tool embedded with functionalities able to measure this competitiveness amongst graded contractors. The RoC would allow construction clients to not only measure contractor competitiveness but also that they may have an improved ability to measure the direct impacts of contractor development interventions. , Lolucubungulo lugxile ekubhekeni izimo ezinqala ngaphakathi komkhakha wezokwakha. Lubuka igalelo losonkontilaka abasebancane kulomkhakha ekuzithuthukiseni kanti futhi nemizamo eyenziwe uHulumeni endimeni edlalwe uhlu olushicilwelwe iBhodi yomkhakha wezokwakha (i-cidb). Umbhali walolucubungulo ukholelwa ekutheni loluhlu lungasetshenziswa hhayi kuphela ekuthuthikiseni ononkontilaka kodwa futhi ekwenzeni ukuthi bakhule kulo lona loluhlu baze bakwazi ukuthola amathuba angcono emisebenzi. Uhlu ekukhulunywa ngalo lapha lwashicilelwa i-cidb ngomgomo womthetho kaHulumeni we-Act 38 of 2000. Luyithuluzi elenzelwe ukuba likhulise umkhakha wezokwakha, lithuthukise osomabhizinisi abasebancane, likhuthaze imigomo efanelekile ekwakheni (improved delivery). Enye injongo yokushicilela lelithuluzi kwakuwukwenzela ukuthi kwaziwe inani labo osonkontilaka, ubulili babo nokuthi bagxile-phi ngokwezindawo zokusebenza. Konke loku kwakufanele ukuze uHulumeni kanye nabanye abaqashi bazi ukuthi uma kusikelwana ngemisebenzi bangaki na ononkontilaka abazokwazi ukufeza izidingo zemiphakathi esiphila kuyo? Lolucubungulo luzobheka ithuluzi elasungulwa umkhakha wokwakha ekutheni lingakwazi na ukudlondlobalisa osonkontilaka abasafufusa phakathi kwalemikhakha (grades) ababekwe kuyo? Kuzobhekwa futhi ubugugu balo lona lelithuluzi. Akuzoqxilwa kubo bonke osonkontilaka, kodwa kulabo abasabancane ngokwamabhizinisi abo ababekwe emazingeni kusukela ku-2 kuya ku-5 ngokoshicilelo le-cidb. Kuzobhekwa amakhono abo labosonkontilaka, kubhekwe futhi izinkomba ezingabadlondlobalisa ngokwamabhizinisi. Okunye okuhloswe yilolucubungulo ukubheka ukuthi umkhakha wezokwakha uyakwazi na ukukhiqiza amathuba anele isikhathi eside kwenzelwa osonkotilaka belu nokuthi uyakwazi na ukuqhubeka wakhe amathuba azokhuthaza ukukhula kwabo. Ekugcineni okufanele kufezwe yilolucubungulo wukuthi uhlu olushicilelwe losonkontilaka lungasiza ekukhuthazeni udlondlobalo losonkontilaka abancane.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The effectiveness of the Joint Building Contracts Committee Series 2000 Principal Building Agreement
- Authors: Cumberlege, Roy Charles
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Joint Building Contracts Committee (South Africa) , Construction contracts -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:9665 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/768 , Joint Building Contracts Committee (South Africa) , Construction contracts -- South Africa
- Description: With the growth experienced in the Building Industry, it is increasingly important to have a contract document that can be used on projects that is reasonably acceptable to all parties concerned. The objective of the research was to determine the effectiveness of the Joint Building Contracts Committee Series 2000 Principal Building Agreement (JBCC 2000 PBA)(Edition 4.1, March 2005) currently used in the Building Industry. The literature reviewed and results of quantitative research amongst contractors formed the basis of this study. The study revealed that the JBCC 2000 PBA is the most favourable contract document used by contractors in the Building Industry. With the inclusion of a range of construction guarantee alternatives in the contract document in lieu of the retention clause, more than half of the respondents have indicated that they are in favour of a retention clause to be included in the contract document as an alternative security option. The study also showed that there are still areas of concern with regards to the difficulty in interpreting and implementing numerous clauses of the document and that amendments were made to the document without legal advice, resulting in disputes. The research further also revealed that developing building contractors experience difficulties in general where the JBCC 2000 PBA is used as contract document on projects. There also seems to be no balance of risk between the employer and contractor in most cases where this contract document is used. The research concluded with proposals on revisions to some clauses to ensure a better contract document that will be acceptable to all contractors in the Building Industry and ultimately to be an internationally acceptable document.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008