A Study on the Cost Control Techniques in the Malaysian Construction Industry

Kiew, Jia Xing (2022) A Study on the Cost Control Techniques in the Malaysian Construction Industry. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Cost control is a process of collecting actual costs and collating them in a format to allow comparison with the project budgets. A comprehensive cost control can keep a record of the monetary expenditure during the project construction period to manage the cost within the budget. Hence, the primary purpose of this dissertation is to identify the cost control techniques in Malaysia. This research is carried out to determine the Covid-19 pandemic wallop on the Malaysian construction industry economy, to determine the cost control techniques available in the Malaysian construction industry, and to ascertain the cost control techniques adopted in the Malaysian construction industry during Covid-19 pandemic. More than 20 previous research study are reviewed and discussed in the literature review to identify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Malaysian construction industry, the cost control techniques and the cost control techniques employed by the Malaysian construction industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to validate the information gained from the previous study, a survey is conducted through the distribution of Google Form questionnaires to the construction industry personnel such as the Contractors, the Developers and the Consultants. The responses collected are then organised in Microsoft Excel and imported into the ‘Statistical Package for the Social Sciences’ (SPSS) software for further analysis.The questionnaire is designed into four main sections. Section one to Section three of the questionnaire is designed to collect quantitative data while the last section is designed to collect qualitative data. The frequencies, descriptive and multiple responses in SPSS are used to analyse the collected quantitative data. Whereas the qualitative data is analysed with the five steps mentioned under Chapter 3. The findings show the cost control techniques adopted in Malaysian construction industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. The main reasons contributing to the financial burden during Movement Control Order (MCO) are (1) the shutdown of construction works on-site, (2) the unemployment of various professional positions, (3) additional cost incurred to curb Covid-19 disease, (4) the extravagant fine imposed by the government, (5) the delay in construction works, and (6) the inflation of construction material prices. The standard deviation and mean are computed to determine the most influential reason. The findings show top reasons that cause financial burden to the construction industry identified through this research study are the delay in construction works, the shutdown of construction works on-site, additional cost incurred to curb Covid-19 disease, and the inflation of construction material prices. The familiarity on the techniques for cost planning, cost controlling, and software application for cost control are determined. Following that, the cost control techniques adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic are identified through this research paper to provide a brief idea on the cost control that can be employed during the sudden strike of economic downturn.The final chapter included the contributions, limitations of this research and recommendations for future research on this topic. The outcomes of this research are useful for any construction industry personnel in preparing the cost control. It would benefit the future research in cost controlling field. The results also serve a part for the future development for the cost control techniques during any financial crisis. There are limitations to this research such as time constraint, limitation in the scope of study, lack of samples, and the method of carrying out the research. The recommendation to the future research that extended from this research is through expanding the scope and area of study, and the method of primary data collection.