Change Order Management in Nigeria: The Current Context

Abstract

In order to curb the negative impact of changes on a project, it is crucial to implement change management. This study investigated the current practice of managing change order in the Nigerian Construction Industry. A wide-ranging literature review and questionnaire survey was conducted to gain in-depth understanding of change management. Stratified random sampling was used to sample 240 respondents (including architects, quantity surveyors, building engineers and building service engineers. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used for data analysis. The analysis results established that change management application is at 15 % in Nigeria which is relatively low. Contentment with outdated methods of construction and high application cost, as well as lack of knowledge was the major drawbacks to change management. Respondent perceived benefit included faster response to change order; reduce time and human resource use. Completion schedule delay; bureaucracy-based client management, and poor coordination and documentation were the three major problems associated with construction industry practice presently. The paper concludes that based on perceived benefits attributed to change management, it is important that professional institutions encourage the adoption of change management through organised workshops and training.