Exploring the Current Material Management Practices and Their Influences on Material Availability in Construction Projects of Developing Countries

The rapid growth in the construction industry demands a large consumption of construction materials thereby, depicting the importance of material management in construction. However, the material management process in the construction industry is still in its infancy, especially in developing countries. Moreover, material management studies focusing on developing countries are limited in the literature, and very few research has been reported to investigate the relationship between practices and material availability. Thus, the objectives of the study are set: (1) to identify the extent of implementation of material management practices in developing countries like India and neighboring countries that reflects the current practices and (2) to examine the influence of material management practices in the timely availability of materials in construction projects. Interviews and surveys involving leading construction organizations in India and neighboring countries were used to accomplish the purpose. A total of 23 material management best practices were considered for this study. Descriptive statistical analysis of the survey data shows that only nine practices have high level of implementation whereas other practices have either moderate or low level of implementation which is a real cause of concern. Besides, implementation level of few practices such as using reverse auctions for procurement of material, having surplus-reducing program, and conducting materials management process audits are different in contractors' and owners' organization. Further, the regression analysis results that forming procurement team, preparing procurement plan, and having a formal process to evaluate suppliers' QA/QC have significant positive influence on material availability whereas, having systematic inspection process has a negative influence on material availability. Utmost care should be given to these practices to avail the materials in time. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to ensuring the timely availability of materials thus reducing the delays and cost overrun in a construction project.