Wednesday, March 9, 2011

DETERMINATION OF LAND USE ANALYSIS FORMER LOCATION OF CENTRAL MARKET IN THE CITY BULUKUMBA

Local governments Bulukumba have assets in the form of vacant land area of ± 11,440 m2. Land was the former location of Central Market in Kota Bulukumba that since 9 years ago have been relocated. Since then the land is abandoned without any significant use for the increase in revenue (PAD) or to the social community in Bulukumba. This study aims to determine the type best use for land at the former location of Central Market the City Bulukumba.

The analysis was performed in the Highest and Best Use of Principle (Highest and Best Use) by using 4 criteria that serves as a means of testing the feasibility of each alternative use of the lets. Eligibility criteria is the Law (legally permissible), Physical Feasibility (physically possible), Financial Feasibility (financially feasible) and Maximum Productivity (maximally productive). To determine the best utilization, the indicator used is the market value of land with the assumption that the highest market value of all land use were analyzed, will show the best use of land.

The results showed that there are 3 alternative utilization of the elected majority government and society Bulukumba namely: to build a shopping center, build a multipurpose building and build a hotel. Of all the possible alternatives are then chosen as an alternative to build a shopping center on land the best utilization of the former location of the central market in Kota Bulukumba land market value of Rp. 2.000.000, - / m2.

Role Bulukumba significant in supporting the growth of South Sulawesi, has prompted increased activity the exchange of goods and services in the area. This has implications for the increasing need for the location of transactions that can accommodate community activities in the field of trade. Therefore, by the year 1998 Local Government Bulukumba decided to move to a location Central Market Bulukumba

Re-location plot of land was left vacant as a Government-owned assets with a strategic new location. Various alternative land uses former central market location in the City Bulukumba which will provide benefits in the economic and social fields can basically be carried out. However, until now the land is not utilized. This is certainly not in line with the spirit of regional autonomy that encourages optimization of assets to increase revenue (PAD).

Nevertheless, these land uses should be studied carefully. Before settled on an alternative would require in-depth analysis with the appropriate method and put forward the participation of all elements that play a role as stakeholders (stakeholders) which will come into contact with the facility to be built on the site. Based on the above explanation, it is deemed necessary to provide input to the government Bulukumba in determining the best use of land to optimize the benefits of the former location of Central Market in the City Bulukumba.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Cost Estimation Practice

with time, facilities, and costs are available. Contractors in this case not have enough time to estimate costs accurately, facilities to support the activities of these estimates are still less included software facilities, and costs required to meet the facility is considered too great, one of which caused no inability to buy the software cost estimation.

In the implementation cost estimate, there are other constraints felt by small contractors, especially related to the estimation calculation process that is associated with a determination coefficient of the work. This means that small contractors have difficulty in estimating the productivity of the work that is usually obtained from the data of experience in the field. Another difficulty is in the process of analyzing the unit price, it relates directly to the coefficient of workers but broader in scope with the final result to the price of an item per unit volume. Furthermore, the results of a survey that describes the practice of the estimated cost carried out by small contractors are as follows:

  1. Volume of work obtained by contractors usually sourced from the owner and also the calculation of the results of its own. This occurs because the type of contract commonly used type of a lumpsum contract, where the volume of work had been predetermined by the owner as a reference.
  2. In estimating the volume of material is wasted, a small contractor to do it by referring to the percentage volume of these materials on a job, applying it to all types of the same material on another job, and using the percentage of work items without more detailed analysis
  3. Small Contractor codefication item does not have a standard job. This is due to ignorance of the benefits codefication themselves for the benefit estimates and other related applications.
  4. All the respondents conducted a survey of prices in each plan cost estimates. About 50% of respondents obtain new price information from suppliers and the majority of small contractors to do the survey every new project. Items that are always updated are certain items related to the project.
  5. All respondents to analyze the productivity of workers and always items documented to be used as reference in subsequent project work.
  6. Update productivity data made where there is a new project. Listing of productivity per job done, meaning that the respondents noted a work productivity in the form of a crew of workers for certain jobs.
  7. For indirect costs are taken into account by the contractor is the cost of overhead, contingency, profit, and tax and insurance costs on the project.
  8. All respondents take into account the overhead costs that are inserted in the percentage of total project cost.
  9. All respondents take into account the profit, profit insertion there are two alternatives, among others, the cost per job or on overall costs. Profit will be calculated after all indirect costs included, usually profit calculations are shown in the list offering price (not inserted as other indirect costs).
  10. All respondents take into account the tax cost on the project especially on the workers, the insertion fee percentage tax on the total project cost. Tax calculation results are usually not inserted yet shown in the report, the percentage of tax taken from the direct costs, indirect costs, and profit.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Spreadsheet Applications for Small Contractors

Based on the findings above, then a spreadsheet application prototype was developed with a Gnome AM (Abdu et al. 2007). The name 'gnome', which means dwarf dwarf, taken to represent the condition of small contractors. While the PM is Project Management. This spreadsheet application developed using the many capabilities of Microsoft Excel automatically so the user will unknowingly use these utilities and have the benefit of speed and ease.

Gnome PM to assist the contractor in the project management of the following three stages:
  1. Project Planning. In this stage the user can create a list of planned work on the project, establishes the relationship of logic one job with another job (Start-to-Start or Finish-to-Start), and set the duration, volumes, and the cost of each job. Data entry is assisted by a simple electronic form (Figure 1). The result of data entry will then be processed by the application and automatically generated S-curve and a bar-chart plans.
  2. Monitoring or Update. Furthermore, this application can be used to monitor the work week by updating the progress of each job, both in terms of start and end of execution, or using the percentage of progress of physical work. For this update process, a simple electronic form provided (Figure 2).
  3. Control. To exercise control, must be no data plan and actual data for comparison. This application has provided weekly reports in the form of tabulations that draw together the work plan as well as actual job performance. In addition, the integrated graphics in the form of curve-S and both plan and actual barchart also provided by these applications automatically. Thus, small contractors do not have to laboriously make weekly reports to be submitted to the supervisor or owner (Figure 3 and 4).

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Construction Project Management Practices by Small Contractors

A study has been conducted in the Laboratory of Construction Management and Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITB, which aims to identify how the practice of planning, progress update, and control project carried out by small contractors. Furthermore, using information on practices conducted in the field, this research continues to build a construction project management software for small contractor that easy used to relying on a computer spreadsheet application (Microsoft Excel)Abdu et al. 2006).

Preliminary results about the construction project management practices by small contractors in the city of Bandung is as follows:
  1. Small contractors have been doing the planning, monitoring or an update of progress, and the control of construction projects as part of its business activities to achieve the owner's expectations.
  2. To support the management of the project, small contractors are not using a sophisticated Kakas and expensive, because of the complexity of projects they handle are low with a maximum duration of 7 months with a number of items of work less than 70 pieces.
  3. The bar-chart and S-curve is a method to be used in planning the work schedule, but rarely used for its control.
  4. The largest obstacle is the availability of human resources, cost and time to the needs of monitoring or an update of progress of work and project management.
  5. Microsoft Excel is the most widely used application for project planning activities, but still rarely used for project control. However, Microsoft Excel is the most popular software compared to Microsoft Project and Primavera Project Planner.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Estimated Cost Offers for Small Contractors: Practices and Needs Implementation in Construction Project Management Application

The presence of small contractors remain a vital part of business development national construction service, because in terms of number of about 90% of the construction companies listed on LPJKN are small contractors. The ability of contractors minor in management of construction projects, as the name suggests, is still relatively low, which is a challenge in the business development of construction services in Indonesia. This paper present a further study of the effort to get a picture of the extent to which management practices for construction projects undertaken by small contractors. The study focused on how small contractors to estimate the cost of bidding and the use of the results of these estimates in project control.

In this study, a survey, using the workshop method, made to the classification of several small construction company in Bandung. Results from the survey provides an overview of the practice of offering cost estimates made, problems faced, and the potential development of systems that offer cost estimates associated with projects in environmental management of small contractors. Views on the practice of the estimated costs of this offering will be used as the basis for cost system design implementation and integration module offers these cost estimates on a construction project management computer applications for small contractors that have been developed previously.

The complexity of construction projects that are growing by day require management of resources better. Construction industry in Indonesia at present and the future will face a tough task to reconstruct infrastructure and production facilities that have been declining condition and build community, infrastructure and new industrial complexes. This certainly requires the ability of construction contractors (contractors) to be more efficient in the management of construction projects (Hendrickson 2000, Oberlender 2000).

A study conducted to assess the extent of readiness of construction contractors in Indonesia in an effort to increase the value (value) of a construction product to reduce waste (waste) that occur in the process of project implementation, or more commonly called the principle of lean construction (lean construction), has shown great weakness contractors in Indonesia in terms of planning and scheduling (planning and scheduling), evaluation, and control (Abduh and Roza, 2006).

The cause of these weaknesses is the human factor, and availability and use of technologies that facilitate the mastery and implementation of construction management in the field. On the other hand, as is known, developing a statistical data from the Institute for National Construction Services (LPJKN) shows that in Indonesia there are about 120,000 companies implementing construction and 90% of this amount is small contractors. This raises challenges in the development of construction services in Indonesia, given the ability of small contractors in construction project management is relatively lower than the large contractors.

Thus, a need is real, that it takes an effort to improve performance management of construction projects undertaken by small contractors. However, the real facts of how project management practices by small contractors are still required to better focus on core issues of project management weaknesses owned small contractors. It is expected that a real picture of the way the project management of small contractors that can provide a path to building the business to be done in the development of construction services in Indonesia, through the empowerment of small contractors. This paper present a further study of the effort to get a picture of the extent to which management practices for construction projects undertaken by small contractors.

The study focused on how small contractors to estimate the cost of bidding and the use of the results of these estimates in project control. Views on the practice of the estimated costs of this offering will be used as the basis for cost system design implementation and integration module offers these cost estimates on a construction project management computer applications for small contractors that have been developed previously. It is expected that construction project management computer applications that can participate in improving the ability of small contractors in Indonesia.