Materials Management Practices on Public Projects in the Upper West Region

In project construction, materials constitute a major cost item of the project, making material management a key component of project success and profit maximization. Using a cross-sectional survey design, this study explored materials management practices on construction sites and the emerging challenges in material management in the Upper West Region of Ghana. A total of 129 respondents of project site managers, project consultants and the Districts/Municipals Engineers were involved in the study. The study found that organizations use buying strategies, material planning methods, transportation methods, material handling, and inventory management. Among the difficulties include theft and vandalism of materials, a lack of technical expertise on the contractor's part, and a shortage of storage space on site. Given the existing materials management practices, the paper argues for the adoption of technology-based material planning and handling methods. This requires capacity building on the adoption and use of technology in material management.