Definition and Justification of Management Problem, Statement of Research Question and Research Objective, Identification and Application of Relevant Theory and Secondary Sources, Identification and Justification of Research Methodology, Outline of Data Analysis Plan, Communication and Referencing

The purpose of this project report is to give an overview regarding the progress to date of the management problem regarding the complaints received by Caledonia scaffolding from residents of the locality and regarding utilisation of resources due to construction of scaffolding (Kumar et al. 2013). This project will address the progress done so far about analysing the various research objectives and research problem related to the issue. The paper will discuss the various secondary sources of data that have been used so far for this research study that would address the research objectives of the research proposal. The report will analyse the research methodologies used for the research to date and will give a brief outline of the data analysis plan that was used for the research so far.

Caledonia, which is a scaffolding company have constructed a staff holding structure .But after few days of work it was observed that the residents of the locality near the newly constructed scaffolding structure is creating a lot of problems for the members of the locality. Caledonia also have analysed that that due to these staff holdings lot of the resources of the company is being utilized due to the construction .It was also observed that the staff holding structure was taking up lot of space nearby and also causing lot of littering which caused issue of concern for the members of locality. This stated issue was a major concern for Caledonia leading to lot of problem of company. Thus, this particular issue is of concern and importance for the Caledonia scaffolding company because the scaffoldings are not only occupying too much space of the construction area but also they are using the vital resources of the company, which could be used for the purpose of construction in some other sites. This management problem required immediate action from Caledonia.

Caledonia scaffolding company should address the issue as if the problem is not mitigated or resolved it will incur loss to the company, which is not desirable. The company can use the resources of the company for construction in other construction purposes. Not only that, due to the activities of the scaffolding construction the residents of the locality were complaining of activities of littering around the area, which was due to the scaffolding construction. If Caledonia does not resolve the problem of the local residents, they may complain about it to the concerned government authorities as a result Caledonia may land in a legal trouble. Thus, this issue is of prime importance for Caledonia and it needs to be addressed immediately.   

 Due to the various issues that were raised related to the construction of scaffolding, Caledonia decided to remove the scaffoldings to mitigate various issues raised due to the construction of the scaffoldings. Caledonia removed the scaffoldings to free up the space that was used due to the construction of the scaffolding and use the company’s resources for other benefits like making constructive activities in some other sites that would bring profit to the company.

This issue of scaffolding construction not only raised complaints from the local residents near the construction site but also occupying lot of space utilizing lot of resources of the company which could be used for other benefits of the company. As a result, this issue of Caledonia is deemed as a major management problem that demands attention.

• Research question and objectives

The research question that was used for the research was that:

• What are the Australian best practices or licensing for scaffolding that minimises the disruption to others and still meet safety requirements.

The research objectives used in the research that would address the research question are:

RO1: To find out the loss incurred by the company Caledonia, because of the construction of these scaffoldings.

RO2: To find out the means through which they can be removed without causing any significant problem for the construction workers.

RO3: To find out the manner in which the space and the resources consumed by the construction of the scaffoldings can be used effectively.

The industry, that was discussed in the research was Scaffolding market industry, Scaffolding industry provides work access solutions that includes erecting and disassembling scaffolding, renting of scaffolding and providing services, to oil and petrochemical clients, directly or through general contractors (Reiser and Tabak  2014). The scaffolding industry has been divided based on types, materials, application, and regions.  Based on the type, the scaffolding market has been divided as Supported Scaffolding, Suspended Scaffolding, and Rolling Scaffolding.

The Scaffolding Company discussed in the research is Caledonia, which is a scaffolding company in Australia, which provide wide range of services in Australia related to Scaffolding like scaffold hire, providing scaffold design and project management tasks. Caledonia offers services in Australia and New Zealand; however, the research is related to its services of scaffolding construction work in Australia.

• Report outline

This progress report gives details of the research topic and studies about the research topic that relates to problems regarding scaffolding, its field of implications and gives a overview of the practices regarding scaffolding that minimises disruption to local residents near the site of scaffolding construction. This report will also try to analyse and address the objectives related to the research topic. The next portion of the progress report will discus and analyse the research methodologies used for this research so far, that includes the research approach and data collection techniques used for the research to date.  The last section of this progress reports gives details of the proposed analysis of the results.

Scaffolding work includes erection, alteration or disassembling of a temporary structure that is constructed to support a platform .The scaffolding work is associated with risks and accidents so a person who is engaged in scaffolding work should have a high-risk work licence. The person who is undertaking the work of scaffolding should hold a relevant class of work licence that is approved by the WHS regulations. Many accidents occur every year related to scaffolding work, which includes injuries as well as death cases. Scaffolding work demands a proper safety management that would support prevention and safety mitigation (Hou et al. 2016). There have been research works that assessed the safety risk factors related to scaffolding construction (Collins et al 2014).In the article the authors developed a approach to integrate a safety risk factors with BIM  for safety management using 4 dimensional (4D) BIM which is a tool for safety management. The scaffolding work, when a construction project is underway, often leads to problems like waste of managerial material and resources (Chen and Luo 2014) .There was a research that was done, where the authors from premier technical institutes of USA developed a rule-based system that plans automatically scaffold system. It would be utilized for various purposes related to  scaffolding work (Kim and Teizer 2014). The paper discussed the leading industry practices regarding scaffolding system management and planning. The article also highlighted the automated design and planning system that can be used in communication, billing of materials and scheduled simulation.

There have been some research works done previously that defines scaffolding work in construction in true terms and also highlighted the risks associated with it .Scaffolding work should only engage people who are competent and posses a relevant work licence issued and approved by WHS regulations (Schofield, Reeve and McCallum 2014). There were also some research works, which highlighted the importance of using automated scaffold system and stated its implications and usability. However, there are certain topics that are needed to be addressed related to scaffolding work

Scaffolds are temporary frameworks that are constructed to support working platforms. Scaffolds are used in the work of construction so that the workers get a safe and fixed platform when the work is done above ground level or on a constructed floor. Scaffolding includes use of components such as frames and tubes which when assembled can form a scaffold.  Scaffolding work includes structuring, altering and dismantling of a temporary structure that are erected to support a particular platform.

Lot of risk is associated with scaffolding work so it is regarded as the high-risk job (Sousa, Almeida and Dias 2014). In a scaffolding ,work there is a risk of people or object  falling from a height of more than four metres(Zhou  Goh and Li 2015) .There are three classes of high risk work licence that comes under the guidelines of model WHS regulation that is followed in Australia. The three classes of licences are –basic, intermediate and advanced. The details of the scaffolding licensing are mentioned below:

Figure 1List of licensing related to scaffold work

(Source: Schofield, Reeve and McCallum 2014)

• Types of Scaffold and Scaffolding

Birdcage Scaffold – A birdcage scaffold is a scaffold that is not dependent, it has more than two rows of standards in two directions, which are connected to each other with the help of Transoms and ledgers. It is used mostly for carrying out work in a single level.

Figure 2Birdcage Scaffold

(Source: Chi,  Lin and Dewi  2014)

Trestle Scaffold – The trestle scaffold is constructed from already fabricated braces and other accessories .the Trestle scaffolds are generally used by bricklayers and painters .These type of scaffolds does not require licensed scaffolder to dismantle or erect .

Figure 3Trestle Scaffold

(Source : Zhang  Boukamp and Teizer 2015)

Hung scaffold – The hung scaffold is an independent scaffold ,it cannot be elevated or lowered when it is being used .The hung scaffold generally hangs from another structure.

Figure 4Hung Scaffold

(Source: Chi,  Lin and Dewi  2014)

• Issues that can damage scaffolds

There are certain issues that can damage the scaffold equipment leaving it vulnerable (Chi,  Lin and Dewi  2014).

• Environmental condition- Extremities of weather can attribute to damage of scaffold. Extreme conditions of rainfall, heat and cold causes rusting of the scaffold equipments (Fischer  and Knutti 2015).
• Improper work protocols – If the workers do not maintain proper working protocols or guidelines, it leads to damage of scaffold equipments (Hsiao,  2014).
• Overloading – Overloading is a major concern in working of scaffold. If the load bearing capacity of scaffolds are breached it can lead to severe accidents causing injuries and deaths (Kazmi,  Qasim and Kazmi).
• Absence of qualified personnel- Works related to scaffold requires high competency so it is essential to engage properly trained and licensed personnel in this work activity. They can use their knowledge and guidance to make the scaffolds safer.
• Implications – the research gap

There had been many researches that studied analysed the hazards and risks, related to scaffolding works (Zhang  Boukamp and Teizer 2015). The previous works related to scaffolding underlines and highlights the issues that lead to damage of scaffolds .It discusses the vulnerability of scaffolds and problems related to it. However, the researches done on scaffolding fails to address the issues of combating the safety issues of scaffolding .The also fails to address what measures should be taken to utilize the resources  used by scaffolding work for other benefits. . Further research should be done that would work on measures to ensure safe scaffolding system and use of software for scaffolding system.

Figure 5Conceptual model

(Source: created by author)

Research methodology is the method that helps a researcher to design their research in an appropriate manner (Flick, 2015). The research methodology deals with the various methods that   the researcher has adopted to conduct the study (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015.). It is important to select proper methodology, as proper selection of the research methodology will help the researcher to deduce his finding in a suitable way.

• Research approach and justification

Data collection methodologies are the procedure of collection of data, which can be classified as primary data and secondary data (Rhodes et al.,2014). Data collection methodologies are done over the targeted variables in a systematic and organized manner. Primary Data Collection method involves raw data collection like conducting of questionnaires, interviews or surveys with a small group of individuals. On the other hand, Secondary Data Collection methods involve use of the previous researches to collect data from various sources such as reliable articles, reviewed journals and other sources (Clark 2013). For this research proposal, both primary and secondary data is to be collected. For  the collection of primary data both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used it will as it make the research much reliable and justifies as in qualitative method of primary data collection interaction will be much more and wherever much interaction is not required quantitative method would be used that would save time. In collection of primary data, 10 managers of Caledonia scaffolding company and 50 employees of Caledonia would be interviewed and a survey would be done with the employees of Caledonia with questionnaires (Rowley 2014). These surveys would be sufficient to gather information and analyse the research question and objectives as they are direct stake holders of the organization concerned with the research .Thus no other further primary data collection would be required. Secondary data will be used which will give a brief idea about the researches done previously on the concerned topic that addresses the research objectives and the research questions.

For the accomplishment of this research proposal for primary and secondary data would be used. Use of both the primary and secondary data would strengthen the research work and help to analyse the research question and objectives in much better way. For the primary data collection, both quantitative and qualitative methods would be used. The qualitative method is necessary for the research, as in qualitative method 10 managers of the Caledonia scaffolding company would be interviewed (Miles, Huberman and Saldana 2013). The interview would be face to face that would provide lot of interactions .This interaction would be beneficial as the managers are fully aware of the problems faced by Caledonia and what are the concerning issues. For quantitative method approach, 50 employees of Caledonia would be surveyed with open-ended questionnaires. This would address the research question giving us a general opinion from them in less time. There are secondary sources of data that address the research questions detailing the practices and licensing of the scaffolding works. The research works on scaffolding works also states how these scaffolding structures can be dismantled and removed without disrupting others. The details of the data collection techniques have been provided in the form of table.

Table 1Data collection method and techniques

(Source: Created by the author)

Table 2 Gantt Chart

(Source: Created by the author)

Data Analysis method is the process of inspecting and transforming data that will help to make decision and help in suggesting conclusions. There are two major categories of Data Analysis methodology; they are Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis techniques (Miles, Huberman & Saldana, 2013). In this   research proposal, the researcher shall conduct quantitative data analysis where the researcher would conducts surveys of employees in Caledonia and other scaffolding companies to almost 50 employees. A qualitative analysis was also done which included interviews to 10 managers of Caledonia and other construction companies in Australia. The data collected in survey will be transformed into numerical bar charts and percentages, in order to obtain a reliable outcome from the collected data.

References

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