Browsing by Author "Gunarathna, N"

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Open Access
Causes for Death and Injuries in Construction Industry in Sri Lanka
(SLIIT, 2022-02-11) Wijesekara, M; Fernando, P; Gunarathna, N
The construction industry plays a vital role in the socio-economic development in any country. However, it has been recognized as one of the most hazardous industries in many counties around the world because of the nature of activities and tasks performed at construction sites. Similarly, presentday construction industry of Sri Lanka prioritizes and considers safety as a primary, complex issue due to its high impact on the industry. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to identify the causes for deaths and injuries in construction sites in Sri Lanka and identify actions to mitigate those accidents. The data collection was in the form of documentary review, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaire survey. This study found that the nine (9) most prominent types of accidents that have occurred in Sri Lankan construction sites include falling from heights and scaffoldings, falling debris or objects and machinery accidents. During the last 10-year period 2,135 accidents have been recorded in the construction industry, including both fatal and non-fatal accidents, among which 311 were fatal accidents. As per the study findings, during the period of 2010 – 2020, 14 fatal construction accidents were reported out of every 100 construction accidents. Usually, most of the accidents at construction sites are due to lack of safety at site, working without PPE, inadequate training and lack of supervision. Further, the study also recommends strategies to minimize the identified nine (9) most prominent types of accidents and to improve construction site safety. Findings of this research could help towards reducing the fatal and non-fatal construction accidents in Sri Lanka and to develop safe work environment in the local construction industry.
Open Access
DELAYS AND DISRUPTIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DURING THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC
(researchgate.net, 2022-06-24) Gammanage, S. H; Gunarathna, N
COVID-19 pandemic has become a global catastrophe today dragging many nations towards severe economic distress. The Sri Lankan economy has no exception. Not surprisingly, the sluggish economic conditions in the country have adversely affected the construction industry in Sri Lanka. The pandemic has resulted in almost every construction project getting delayed or disrupted. This research aims to determine the factors that caused delays and disruptions in large scale construction projects in Sri Lanka due to pandemic. The overall impact of the global pandemic on construction projects in both local and international platforms were identified through a comprehensive literature review. Additionally, the impact on the local domain in terms of delay and disruption was assessed based on exploratory interviews and survey questionnaire disseminated among industry experts. Final conclusions were drawn by conducting 9 case studies and analysing responses to survey questionnaire provided by 30 industry practitioners. This study assisted in finding measures and mechanisms currently in use to mitigate the impact of delay and disruption of the construction phase of construction projects. The findings also paved the way to recognize innovative mitigation strategies to control the adverse impact on on-going construction projects. Analysis of the responses concluded that, delay in project kick-off, delays in material delivery, shortage of material, project suspension, reduction in the workforce productivity, health and safety concerns, regular price escalations as the key elements attributed to impact the project progress. The study has identified the present mitigating controls over delays or disruption are barely sufficient to address the concern and thus emphasised the need to resort to more effective techniques to remedy the issue.
Open Access
EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON THE SMALL-SCALE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES: THE CASE OF COLOMBO DISTRICT, SRI LANKA
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2022-06-26) Gunarathna, N; Namarathna, C. P
COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the lives of many individuals and has had a severe impact on the global economy. During this crisis, small and medium-scale businesses suffer the most and are the least prepared among all companies as per the previous studies done in other parts of the world. The majority of the small-scale construction firms in Sri Lanka act as subcontractors and generate job opportunities for a considerable number of people and are able to create a multiplier effect on the whole economy. However, it was observed that they are more vulnerable to the adverse impact of the pandemic. Thus, the principal goal of this research is to explore possible survival strategies to overcome critical financial issues of small-scale construction companies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. A mixedmethod approach was adopted to gather the data for the study. A comprehensive literature review was carried out to identify the impact of COVID-19 on both global and local construction industries. The data for this study was gathered using semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive questionnaire survey with small scale construction company owners and construction industry professionals. The findings highlighted the key financial issues faced by the small-scale construction companies due to the pandemic including delays in client payments, supply chain management issues, frequent price escalation of construction materials, and inability to repay loans. The respondents suggested creating partnerships with financially strong companies, reduction of unwanted expenses, modifying supply chain channels and agreements, and ensuring business continuity plans as the strategies to be used to overcome the financial burden that occurred due to the pandemic.
Open Access
Effect of COVID-19 on the small-scale construction companies: The case of Colombo district, Sri Lanka
(2022-06-24) Gunarathna, N; Namarathna, C. P
COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the lives of many individuals and has had a severe impact on the global economy. During this crisis, small and medium-scale businesses suffer the most and are the least prepared among all companies as per the previous studies done in other parts of the world. The majority of the small-scale construction firms in Sri Lanka act as subcontractors and generate job opportunities for a considerable number of people and are able to create a multiplier effect on the whole economy. However, it was observed that they are more vulnerable to the adverse impact of the pandemic. Thus, the principal goal of this research is to explore possible survival strategies to overcome critical financial issues of small-scale construction companies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. A mixedmethod approach was adopted to gather the data for the study. A comprehensive literature review was carried out to identify the impact of COVID-19 on both global and local construction industries. The data for this study was gathered using semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive questionnaire survey with small scale construction company owners and construction industry professionals. The findings highlighted the key financial issues faced by the small-scale construction companies due to the pandemic including delays in client payments, supply chain management issues, frequent price escalation of construction materials, and inability to repay loans. The respondents suggested creating partnerships with financially strong companies, reduction of unwanted expenses, modifying supply chain channels and agreements, and ensuring business continuity plans as the strategies to be used to overcome the financial burden that occurred due to the pandemic.
Open Access
Impact to the Quantity Surveyors Due to the Current Economic Crisis in Sri Lanka
(Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, 2023-03-25) Manawasinghe, S.I; Gunarathna, N; Perera, S
This research focuses on the impact to the Quantity Surveyors due to the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The Easter bomb attack, covid 19 pandemic, and political instability can be seen as the proximate causes of the current economic crisis, while there were many structural issues of the local economy which had paved way for the same. As a developing country, the crisis had a stronger impact on the construction industry than other industries of the economy. The main reasons for the collapse of the construction industry are the suspension of construction projects by the government, the increase in the price of construction materials, the lack of investors to invest in new projects, and bottlenecks in terms of wrong policy directives. The professionals in the construction industry were severely impacted by the downfall. Among the professionals in the construction industry, this study focusses on QSs- (Quantity Surveyors). Thirty (30) semi-structured interviews were carried out in terms of data gathering. The survey findings demonstrated the type of organization and working experience of QSs. The collected data were analyzed using techniques of thematic analysis. Moreover, the findings identified factors which were the challenges due to current economic crisis and proposed strategies to help overcome those challenges
Open Access
Strategies Used by the Sri Lankan Construction Industry to Overcome the Challenges Posed by the Covid-19
(SLIIT, Faculty of Engineering, 2023-03-02) Fernando, P; Gunarathna, N
The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the world's political, social, economic, religious, and financial structures into disarray. COVID-19 has a broad range of effects on numerous industries, including construction. Sri Lanka as a developing country is also affected by the pandemic and many sectors of the Sri Lankan economy such as construction, education, tourism, imports and exports, agriculture, and health etc are experiencing negative consequences of the pandemic, Construction industry as one of the key sectors of the economy was also severely affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic in various ways. Construction companies and government institutes are taking action to face these challenges. This study describes how COVID-19 impacts the local construction industry throughout the construction process. Furthermore, the impact was evaluated with regard to several aspects namely, financial, human resources, supply chain and logistics, legal, and completion and handover of the project. The strategies which are used by the construction industry participants to face the challenges of the pandemic are also discussed. A mixed research approach was used in the study and questionnaires which comprised of both qualitative and quantitative questions were used as a data collection tool. This research revealed new knowledge about the construction industry in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study's most important finding was that the spread of the virus influenced the entire construction process. The pandemic had a major impact on the construction stage as well as the human resources aspect of the industry.
Open Access
Study on the Impact of Cost Controlling Techniques in Mini Hydropower Projects in Sri Lanka
(Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, 2023-03-25) Hirunika, S; Gunarathna, N; Perera, S
Due to the worst economic crisis, Sri Lanka is currently facing sporadic power failures. There is a lack of dollar reserves to pay for the fuel suppliers and the existing national grid network has failed to power the whole nation. The prevailing situation is becoming quite challengeable since there is a huge power crisis due to the shortage of fuel oil which causes to fail whole operations of oil power plants. Therefore, Sri Lanka has relied on hydropower for a majority of its electricity needs. The share of mini hydropower power plants is performing a significant role in contemporary electricity generation considering national policy targets in order to move with sustainable green energy. Consequently, the necessity of the establishment of MHP plants has become higher but there are significant cost overrun factors identified in the construction phase of MHP projects. This research was carried out to identify the cost overrun factors in MHP projects in Sri Lanka. As a result, efficient cost-control measures will be required to address the above matter. Therefore, it was expected to explore the current practices of cost control techniques used in infrastructure projects based on the findings. Various cost control approaches have been created from time to time throughout the last few years. These may include Earn Value Management (EVM), performance reviews, variance analysis, value engineering, site meetings, work programmes, daily material and labor controlling, etc. The data collection process was conducted through questionnaire surveys which are distributed between industry professionals who have enough knowledge and experience regarding the MHP projects. The set of data was converted into quantitative values and collected data from the questionnaire surveys were evaluated by using percentage analysis and weighted score analysis. The results indicates the challenges in current cost control practices and identify the mechanisms to overcome those challenges and determine their effectiveness in mini hydropower project delivery in Sri Lanka.
Open Access
Two cases of clozapine induced thrombocytosis
(Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists, 2016-06-29) Liyanage, N; Gunarathna, N; Mendis, J
Cytopaenias are known to be associated with clozapine treatment. Thrombocytosis maybe mediated by immune reaction and can be of use as potential markers for clozapine induced agranulocytosis, in the future. There are only few case reports of clozapine induced thrombocytosis in the literature. This article discusses two case reports of secondary thrombocytosis associated with clozapine.