A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
ON
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN
NIGERIA
BY
ADESEUN JIDE AMOS
QSV/16/0980
SUBMITTED TO
THE DEPARTMENT OF QUANTITY SURVEYING, SCHOOL OF
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF
TECHNOLOGY AKURE,
ONDO STATE, NIGERIA
PGD IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
JUNE, 2017
PERSONAL DATA SHEET
NAME:
ADESEUN JIDE AMOS
DATE OF BIRTH:
28th March, 1991
NATIONALITY:
NIGERIAN
STATE OF ORIGIN:
OGUN STATE
LOCAL GOVT. AREA:
YEWA SOUTH LOCAL GOVT.,
LANGUAGE:
ENGLISH AND YORUBA
MARITAL STATUS:
SINGLE
SEX:
MALE
RELIGION:
CHRISTIAN
PHONE NUMBER:
08036071076
EDUCATIONAL/INSTITUTION ATTENDED WITH DATE:

U.A.M.C Nursery & Primary School, Ilaro, Ogun State.
2000

Itolu Community High School, Ilaro, Ogun State.
2006

The Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Ogun State.
2012
ACADEMICS/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION OBTAINED WITH DATE:

First Leaving School Certificate
1994 – 2000

Senior School Certificate Examination
2000 – 2006

National Diploma In Quantity Surveying
2007 – 2009

Higher National Diploma in Quantity Surveying
2010 – 2012
HOBBIES:
Reading, Travelling, Meeting People, Sourcing new ideas.
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0
Introduction
2.0
Research Problem
3.0
Aims and Objectives
4.0
Justification of the Study
5.0
Scope of Study
6.0
Literature Review
6.1
Barriers to innovation
6.2
Innovation and the Nigerian Construction Industry
7.0
Research Methodology
8.0
Conclusion
References
1.0
INTRODUCTION
Traditional building technology can be considered to be well developed. Nevertheless,
society and industry continue to demand improved competitiveness, customer and user
satisfactory, sustainable, quality and safety in the built environment. This requires continues and
increased focus on research development Lone and Matthias (2004). Innovation is a complex and
multidimensional process that has received the attention of researchers in all fields due to its
contribution to economic growth, competitiveness and quality of life.
Innovation in general terms is the creation and adoption of new knowledge to improve the value
of products, processes, and services. Innovation in construction services has been recognized as a
source of competitive advantage by policy makers as well as industry practitioners.
The construction industry is often not perceived as offering an environmental that nurtures
creativity. According to Dale (2007), “Construction is a unique environment and by definition is
a creative industry”. He supported this notion by stating that no single project is the same as another
and that diversify breeds innovation and innovative problem solving at the practical level. The
industry is evolving, changing and seeking more integration, innovation and simply better schemes
for providing public services and products. Pale (2007), stated that research conducted by the
office of national statistics shows that construction spends comparatively small amount on
innovation.
2.0
RESEARCH PROBLEM
1. Most construction professionals are stereotyped to old techniques adopted in the discharge
of their profession obligations
2. There is increasing pressure on the construction professionals to become more
environmentally sustainable.
3. The study seeks to identify the drivers of innovations and research in the construction
industry.
This study seeks to identify the construction issues and practices which required research and
development and innovation most and how creativity/innovation are encouraged in Nigerian
construction industry,
The fact that no single project is the same as another and that diversity breeds innovation and
innovative problem solving at the practical level makes this research inevitable.
Pakala (2002), discovered that there were no significantly new environmental methods, processes
or innovations.
According to the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF) (2002), innovation in
construction is considered to be “The act of introducing and using new ideas, technologies,
products and/ or processes aimed at solving problems, viewing things differently, improving
efficiency and effectiveness, or enhancing standards of living”.
The issue of innovative environmental sustainability is of serious concern to the construction
industry. Pakala (2002) noted that all countries are aware of the fact that emissions and other
environmental consequences from actual construction and maintenance activities are of great
concern.
From the foregoing, it appears that the existing studies had not adequately addressed innovative
problems in construction industry. Against this background, this study attempts to provide answers
to the following research questions:
1. How can construction professionals be prompt in the adoption of new techniques in the
discharge of their professional obligations?
2. How can construction professionals cope with the increasing pressure adopt more
environmentally sustainable techniques?
3. What are the drivers of innovation and research in the construction industry?
3.0
AIMS AND OBJECTIVE
This study aims at assessing recent innovation in the construction industry.
this research aims at achieving the following objectives;
1. To examine construction practices where innovation is highly needed in the Nigerian
construction industry.
2. To determine the major drivers of innovation in the construction industry
4.0
JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2006) also defined innovation as “The
introduction of any new or significant goals or services, the introduction of new operational
processes or the implementation of new organizational/managerial processes”. Maron (2008),
Opined that a technological product innovation is the implementation/commercialization of a
product with improved characteristics to deliver objectively new or improved services to the
customer.
The definition provided by Slaughter (1998), seems more broadly accepted by participants and
academics. She defined innovation as follows: “Innovation is the actual use of nontrivial change
and improvement ina a process, product or system that is novel to the institution developing it”.
From the foregoing, it is evident that innovation does not just seek to solve problems or try to seek
solution to an existing problem, but it embraces the concept of creativity entirely. It tends to look
at better ways of doing works even when it is perceived that the present ways, methods, processes
of doing things lack critism.
In summary, it could be deduced that there exist a common fact that innovations is creation of new
things, production or a process and its usage in all the definitions.
Construction industry is a unique environment and by definition is a creative industry.
Most of the environmental criteria are incorporated in the standards and other portions of the
general requirements.
5.0
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research work hopes to evaluate research and innovation in the construction industry
in Nigeria. It will assess the growth and development of the industry and it will be restricted to
only professionals in the construction industry by their individual professional bodies in Nigeria.
The importance of innovation in the construction industry and how it can be implemented more
actively will be examined. Specifically, this study will identify the current level of awareness and
practices of innovations and how it can contribute to the economic growth of the nation.
6.0
LITERATURE REVIEW
Innovation in construction can be studied from many different perspectives. The uk’s
department of trade and industry (DTI) states that innovation is “the successful exploitation of new
ideas” and that “it is the key business process to compete effectively in the increasingly
competitive global environment” (DTI). Different attempts have been made to classify types of
innovation. Handerson and Clark (1990) classify innovation as incremental, modular, architectural
and radical depending on the degree of product/architectural knowledge required to implement. In
the UK the DTI (2007) states that innovation can take several forms including product innovation
(changes in the product/services) which an organization offers; process innovation (changes in the
ways in which they are created and delivered); position innovation (changes in the context in which
the product/services are introduced); paradigm innovation (changes in the underlying mental
models which frame what the organisation does). Organizational innovation in the firm includes
significant changes in the organizational structure. Widen (2003), proferred that traditionally,
innovation in general can be studied from either an innovation system perspective or from a single
innovation company. He maintained that simplified innovation systems research deals with how
the different companies, government and other institutions relate to each other in the innovation
superstructure, while research on the other on the company often deals with its innovation
capabilities, strategies etc. These different ways of looking at innovation have taken place in the
construction industry. There have been a number of studies covering, for example, how national
research policies support construction innovation and how projects should be organized. Dodgson
et al. (1996), defined innovation as the process through which firms seek to acquire and build upon
their distributive technological competence, understood as the set of resources a firm possesses
and the way in which these are transformed by innovative capabilities.
6.1
Barriers To Innovation
Salah (2002) in his research work on identified the following issues as barriers to innovation.

Lower proportions of turnover and savings from innovation in the industry than other
industries in globally.

Unavailability of finance for new initiatives to the innovativeness of an organization.

The competitive environment within the industry which includes competition for fees,
short lead times to respond to tenders, and the size of the market.

The ability to import overseas experience in expanding the creative environment.

Lack of support for new technology that is not well understood in the market place.

Lack of government role in encouraging innovation throughout the industry with respect
to the building regulation, commercial legislation and taxation regulation.

The risk associated with commercialization unproven technologies, such as implementing
risk (market acceptance risk and regulating acceptance risk).

Lack of capital for commercializing ideas which require the commitment of capital and
resources; as this may be a very difficult to do in a cut-price environment.

6.2
Lack of skills and educational level of staff.
Innovation and the Nigerian Construction Industry
Osofisan (2007) stated that in many developing countries like Nigeria, the construction
sector in which the building industry belongs is one of the biggest contributors to the Gross
National Product (GNP). The construction industry plays a strategic role in the Nigerian economy.
The industry is unique in the sense that it is a major contributor to rest of the economy, which
spurs the other industries to produce. According to Akindoyeni (2004), “In the industrialised
countries, the construction industry can be responsible for up to 20% of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and employs up to 12% of the total labour force”. He stated further that “Nigeria
is striving to reach this happy state of affairs, but even at this sub-optimal state of development ,
the industry is responsible for 61% of the GDP and employs up to 20% of a labour force”. This
means it is a significant industry within the Nigerian economy.
It is therefore evident that the Nigerian construction industry is a large industry and does contribute
largely to the economic gowth of the nation but the elements, especially of materials and
technology that make up the construction process are not proudly Nigerian. The high rate of
importation of construction of materials and equipment, and most times borrowed technologies
reveal that innovation on these aspects are on the low level (Ifeanyi 2010). Also, even in the
management sector of the industry, especially as it affects information and communication, the
use of IT is still low. Osofisan (2007) criticized the Nigerian constructon industry as be one of the
slowest to integrate technological advancement. She added that the issue of IT in the building
industry is hence relatively limited compared to other sectors. She however acknowledged that IT
implementation across all sectors of the building industry may be more difficult than in other
countries and thus advocated the need for innovation and process improvement to remain
competitive in today’s digital economy.
Construction projects require high integration of different people and professionals and this in turn
demands heavy exchange of data and information between and among project participants on daily
basis. This makes the industry one of the most information intensive industries, requiring close
coordination among a large number of specialized but independent organizations and individuals
(Osofisan 2007). The issue of procurement of construction projects in Nigerian construction
industry has really not been supportive towards the march to innovation. Our procurement system
is still of the old traditional method of procuring construction work
7.0
RESAERCH METHODOLOGY
The study will make use of secondary data obtained from past research efforts of construction
professionals in the built environment. It study will review three research works in the industry
The works of Obainyo (2010), Equere and Tang (2012) and that of Odusanwo (2012) were
reviewed. whether construction industry encourages innovation and creativity in Nigeria.
It was concluded that innovation is a must for any developing industry and will increase the
contribution to the economy of the nation. It was recommended that government should
promulgate and enforce laws that would encourage innovation in the construction industry; the
national building code should be enforced by both the government and the regulatory bodies; green
construction and energy efficiency practices should be introduced so as to sustain the environment
among others.
8.0
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that research and innovation is needed in the construction industry to enhance
growth and development in the industry.
References
Dale J. (2007). Innovation in construction: Ideas are the currency of the future, CIOB survey,
2007.
Henderson, R. and Clark, K. (1990) “Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing
product technologies and the failure of established firms”, Administrative science
quarterly.
Lone M.S. and Matthias M. (2004) “A need for construction innovation” in European Network of
Building Research Institutes – ENBRI Joint Research
Obianyo A. I. (2010). Innovation processes and practices in construction industries in Anambra
State of Nigeria. Unpublished MSC Thesis. Pp 1-2, 8-15.
Osofisan A. O. (2007). Innovation as an agent of Change in the Nigerian Building Industry;
Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Building (2007) Pp 17-22.
Pakkala P. (2002). Innovation Project Delivery Methods for Infrastructure, an International
Perspective.
Salah. M. et al (2002). Innovation in the Australian Building and Construction Industry-Survey
Report. Princewaterhousecoopers.
Slaughter E. S. (1998). Models of Construction Innovation; Journal of Construction Engineering
and Management