Factors contributing to non-value adding activities in South African construction Fidelis Emuze Department of Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein, South Africa John Smallwood Department of Construction Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and Sangwon Han Department of Architectural Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea Abstract Purpose – Non-value adding activities (NVAAs) are considered to be problematic in the management of projects. Reported research findings suggest that these NVAAs consume resources without necessarily adding value to completed tasks. The main aim of the research is to provide insights and plausible explanations concerning how NVAAs can propagate poor performance in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports on a quantitative survey conducted among public sector clients, consulting engineers, and civil engineering contractors in South Africa. Using a framework that was developed from the literature reviewed, the study proposed three conceptual qualitative models that were based on system dynamics. Findings – The study suggests that NVAAs that are prevalent in South African construction can impact project performance negatively in the form of cost and time overruns. It can also be argued that although there is commonality between NVAAs that are identified in South Africa and other countries, their frequency and effects on project performance differ. Research limitations/implications – The findings provide further insights about NVAAs that are related to the South African infrastructure sector only. Originality/value – The study, which is the first of such in South Africa, could lead to increased awareness among South African project stakeholders that are concerned about performance improvement from the lean construction perspective. Keywords Performance, South Africa, System dynamics, Construction, Non-value adding activities Paper type Case study 1. The background of the study A comparative study that focused on two apartment complexes in South Africa shows that on the average, variation orders accounted for 8 and 4 per cent of the total contract sum of the two apartments, respectively, (Ndihokubwayo and Haupt, 2008). The findings noted that variation orders on both projects occurred mainly due to design related problems. These problems in turn contribute to non-value adding activities (NVAAs), and the attendant cost and time overruns that marginalised the performance of both projects. The sub-optimal performance recorded on these projects is not an isolated case. According to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), the need to improve project The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1726-0531.htm Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology Vol. 12 No. 2, 2014 pp. 223-243 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1726-0531 DOI 10.1108/JEDT-07-2011-0048 Factors contributing to NVAAs 223 brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Central University Of Technology Free State - LibraryCUT, South Africa