Abstract:
More than ever before, today’s global competition is driven by time. Many issues constituted problems
for construction professionals, among them central issue is the time frame. Especially Quantity
Surveyor’s day to day work involves management of activities and achievement of the short-term goals
of the project. Therefore this study focuses on tactful time management for Quantity Surveying
professionals practicing worldwide. Literature synthesis and preliminary survey were undertaken to
establish the research problem of this study that emphasised lack of awareness and training among
Quantity Surveyors on time management. Survey method was adopted whereby initially a preliminary
survey was conducted among 10 Quantity Surveyors who are having vast experience in the field of
study. Further questionnaires were distributed among 90 Quantity Surveyors and semi-structured
interviews were conducted with 7 experts having specialised knowledge and experience in Quantity
Surveying, Time management, Human Resource Management and Project Planning.
The research findings acknowledged Quantity Surveyor’s roles and duties in a typical organization
followed by critical activities that consume more time among the other duties such as preparation of
final accounts and agreements and procurement and coordination of stakeholders etc. while dominant
causes were lack of experience in Quantity Surveying practices and type and requirements of clients.
The survey findings also offered possible techniques to maximise time management such as effective
team work and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and identified barriers that could arise in
implementing them. MANOVA test was carried out with the aid of SPSS tool, which verified the
influence of type of sector, type of organisation, country of practise and managerial position employed
on each factor. Further NVIVO software package was used to produce cognitive map to visualise the
overall picture of study. Ultimately the solutions that emerged from the research findings were used to
formulate guidelines to assist Quantity Surveyors achieving tactful time management in professional
career - the aim of this research.
