Sustainable construction is about achieving a balance between the social, economic and environmental aspects of construction so that the costs and the benefits, evaluated along these three dimensions, are optimised. In the light of the huge expenditure of the UK public sector on construction, the benefits that can be gained from integrating sustainability into construction procurement can be very significant. The aim of this thesis is to develop a theoretical framework to assist UK public clients in addressing sustainability issues in construction projects' procurement strategies. The objectives include: (1) developing agreed sets of social, economic, and environmental sustainability criteria that should be addressed by UK public clients in developing a procurement strategy; (2) identifying the factors that are important to better address sustainable construction by UK public clients in developing a procurement strategy; (3) identifying potential barriers (4) identifying the parties that are most capable of removing such barriers; (5) identifying whether or not local authorities are addressing sustainability in their procurement strategies, policies, guidelines and procedures; and (6) identifying how public clients are addressing sustainability in their procurement strategies, policies, guidelines and procedures. The components of the theoretical framework were derived from a thorough analysis of information obtained from a variety of sources (e.g. public sector practitioners, academics, professionals/consultants, and contractors) and throught the utilisation of a variety of research methods and techniques within a triangulated approach. These included (1) a Delphi Exercise in which 17 experts in sustainability participated, (2) interviews with 9 key professionals and experts, ( 3) a questionnaire survey to which 132 local authorities in the UK responded, and (4) two case studies of local authorities demonstrating good practice in sustainable procurement. Triangulation was utilised within and across the methods and the techniques adopted. It facilitated the access to different levels of reality, through combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Validation of the parts of the framework was conducted in several ways. These included validating the findings from each Delphi round in the subsequent round, validating the findings obtained from one method or technique by utilising another; and facilitating comments by the respondents/interviewees regarding any of the items included in the questionnaires/interview guides used in this research. (Continues...).

Construction supply chains encompass the flows of information, materials, labour, plant, equipment and temporary work, which originate from the different parties, viz., main contractors, suppliers, subcontractors and clients/architects. Any problems with these flows will eventually disrupt the project performance. The primary aim of this research was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of supply chain management practice on construction project performance. The research methods adopted comprised: preliminary investigations, a main survey and the development of simulation models. The preliminary investigations were carried out by interviewing members of the construction industry and visiting two medium-sized building projects over a period of 6 months. The main survey was intended to collect data required for developing the simulation models. They were developed using Pertmaster Risk ExpertM software, which allows supply chain delays to be applied on a CPM network of a typical medium-sized building project of 300 days duration. The results of the simulation showed that when all work was carried out by the main contractor and all supply chain delays were applied, the project's median delay was 67 days (equivalent to 22% of the project duration). It was learnt that problems in material flow caused the biggest impact on the project, followed by labour flow, information flow, and `plant, equipment and temporary work' flow. Among the problems in material flow, the biggest impact was due to difficulties in finding materials. When subcontractors were used for the activities that are normally subcontracted, there was a significant reduction of the median delays from 67 to 37 days (equivalent to a 45% reduction). These findings are an important measure of how much supply chain delays may impact on project performance and suggest that problems related to the supply chain in construction are likely to generate significant disruption.

This thesis investigates the factors that are of critical importance when carrying out JV construction projects between the local and local indigenous Malaysian and foreign contractors in Malaysia. The aim of the research study is to identify the primary factors which support the successful application of joint venture arrangements in construction projects in Malaysia.

The UK government aims at achieving 80% CO2 emission reduction by 2050 which requires collective efforts across all the UK industry sectors. In particular, the housing sector has a large potential to contribute to achieving the aim because the housing sector alone accounts for 27% of the total UK CO2 emission, and furthermore, 87% of the housing which is responsible for current 27% CO2 emission will still stand in 2050. Therefore, it is essential to improve energy efficiency of existing housing stock built with low energy efficiency standard. In order for this, a whole‐house needs to be refurbished in a sustainable way by considering the life time financial and environmental impacts of a refurbished house. However, the current refurbishment process seems to be challenging to generate a financially and environmentally affordable refurbishment solution due to the highly fragmented nature of refurbishment practice and a lack of knowledge and skills about whole‐house refurbishment in the construction industry. In order to generate an affordable refurbishment solution, diverse information regarding costs and environmental impacts of refurbishment measures and materials should be collected and integrated in right sequences throughout the refurbishment project life cycle among key project stakeholders. Consequently, various researchers increasingly study a way of utilizing Building Information Modelling (BIM) to tackle current problems in the construction industry because BIM can support construction professionals to manage construction projects in a collaborative manner by integrating diverse information, and to determine the best refurbishment solution among various alternatives by calculating the life cycle costs and lifetime CO2 performance of a refurbishment solution. Despite the capability of BIM, the BIM adoption rate is low with 25% in the housing sector and it has been rarely studied about a way of using BIM for housing refurbishment projects. Therefore, this research aims to develop a BIM framework to formulate a financially and environmentally affordable whole‐house refurbishment solution based on the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods simultaneously. In order to achieve the aim, a BIM feasibility study was conducted as a pilot study to examine whether BIM is suitable for housing refurbishment, and a BIM framework was developed based on the grounded theory because there was no precedent research. After the development of a BIM framework, this framework was examined by a hypothetical case study using BIM input data collected from questionnaire survey regarding homeowners’ preferences for housing refurbishment. Finally, validation of the BIM framework was conducted among academics and professionals by providing the BIM framework and a formulated refurbishment solution based on the LCC and LCA studies through the framework. As a result, BIM was identified as suitable for housing refurbishment as a management tool, and it is timely for developing the BIM framework. The BIM framework with seven project stages was developed to formulate an affordable refurbishment solution. Through the case study, the Building Regulation is identified as the most affordable energy efficiency standard which renders the best LCC and LCA results when it is applied for whole‐house refurbishment solution. In addition, the Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard (FEES) is recommended when customers are willing to adopt high energy standard, and the maximum 60% of CO2 emissions can be reduced through whole‐house fabric refurbishment with the FEES. Furthermore, limitations and challenges to fully utilize BIM framework for housing refurbishment were revealed such as a lack of BIM objects with proper cost and environmental information, limited interoperability between different BIM software and limited information of LCC and LCA datasets in BIM system. Finally, the BIM framework was validated as suitable for housing refurbishment projects, and reviewers commented that the framework can be more practical if a specific BIM library for housing refurbishment with proper LCC and LCA datasets is developed. This research is expected to provide a systematic way of formulating a refurbishment solution using BIM, and to become a basis for further research on BIM for the housing sector to resolve the current limitations and challenges. Future research should enhance the BIM framework by developing more detailed process map and develop BIM objects with proper LCC and LCA Information.

Hospitals are functionally complex projects for design and construction professionals due to the multiplicity of requirements and diversity of stakeholder interests embraced. Hospital construction projects are challenging as designers need to produce solutions that reflect advances in medical technologies, the needs of future generations and shifting policy directives of the NHS. Briefing and design practices must meet NHS Trust client expectations, facilitate the clarification and questioning of requirements and enable suitable designs to be formulated in a competitive and constrained process. The thesis contributes to understandings of briefing and design practice by analysing how Trust stakeholder needs are represented, understood and transformed into design solutions. The study examines how meanings are made and shared in briefing practice and how parties interpret and understand the communicative interactions within which they are immersed. The role of representations such as the client brief, schematic drawings, visual images and objects is examined and analysed: the thesis contending that design work is characterized by the generation, use and exchange of communicative signs between parties that are both significant and important. A social semiotic informed analysis of briefing and design resources from PFI hospital projects clarifies the role of sign constructs in the communicative process. A variety of materials and their associated work practices are analysed and supplemented through interviewee insights into briefing and design interactions from hospital construction professionals and NHS Trust client representatives. The thesis argues that briefing is characterized by communicative sign use around which issues of meaning, interpretation and understanding revolve; semiotic resources being employed for the representation and transformation of client requirements, the formulation of meanings and the building of relationships between parties. The social semiotic analysis informs understanding of stakeholder management and design communications as it is contended that briefing is meaning making practice where both NHS Trust client and design teams employ design resources with motivational and strategic intent in a competitive and temporally constrained process. The significance of multiple and potentially contrasting stakeholder interpretations of design, the representation and transformation of client requirements and the role of sign communications in a social briefing process is highlighted as the thesis enhances more linear and process driven understandings of briefing practice.

No description available.

Recent substantial empirical studies adopt the network approach to understand digital technology enabled management of construction projects. The majority of these studies are based on surveys, and focus on complex inter-organisational relationships (relationships between different disciplines) and knowledge-transfer on mega projects. The approvals are one of the major information-based activities, which is argued in literature as essential to construction project enabled through digital collaboration technologies. But limited research articulates inter-personal information exchanges on a daily basis for approvals enabled in the digital collaboration technology. In a setting of interdisciplinary large infrastructure projects, this research employs network approach to examine the project performance in exchanging information for approvals between owner operator and supply chain in infrastructure projects enabled through digital collaboration technology.

The increase in e-commerce, the digitisation of design data, and the interchange and sharing of information has made the construction sector more reliant upon IT infrastructure and systems. The design and production process is complex, dynamic, interconnected, and dependent upon greater information mobility, requiring seamless exchange of data and information in real-time. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, the specialty contractors, can utilise cost-effective collaboration technologies, such as cloud computing using software as a service, to help in the effective transfer of information and data. The system dynamics (SO) approach gives a better understanding of the dynamics of complex systems. SO methodology is used as a modelling and analysis tool, to understand and identify the key drivers in the absorption of cloud computing for SMEs. The aim is to determine how the use of SO can improve the management of information complexity, leading to improved performance for SMEs. The research consists of two phases; (phase 1) development of a system dynamics model to address information complexity for productivity and performance improvement for SMEs; and (phase 2) the development of a conceptual framework to improve the work packages information flow and feedback for SMEs using a system dynamics approach at the site production phase. The SO model is useful for the specialty contractors; it provides a system and procedures with feedback loops that has the potential to provide and capture real-time information on performance and productivity. A conceptual framework has been proposed for the specialty contractors to improve work packages information and document management using system dynamics and collaboration technologies. The framework helps to improve productivity, performance and likelihood of increased profitability for the specialty contractors. SD is shown to be a viable tool to manage information complexity using cloud computing for performance improvement in construction.

Construction plays a significant role in forming civilisations as it has an impact that spurs societies worldwide to construct their own unique building identities. The structure of the construction industry is arguably considered to be fragmented and not well organised. So, effective construction logistics management is crucial to the success of construction projects that rely on extended supplier networks and delivery processes. As the construction sector is one of the vital sectors in the Jordanian development process, the construction logistics process is considered a significant problem confronting Jordanian construction and needs to be altered (Sweis et al., 2008; Momani, 2000). My investigation of a variety of databases has discovered no indication of implementation of lean thinking or lean practices within the Jordanian construction industry. The purpose of this study is firstly to examine the challenges facing construction logistics in Jordan, and then explore to what extent the Jordanian construction stakeholders are using lean planning tools and practices throughout their construction logistics process, which determines whether Jordanian construction is conventional or toward lean. Thus, this subject appears to be a substantial area to examine within the Jordanian construction industry. The research aim is to develop models for assessing the adoption of lean logistics in Jordanian construction organisations. To achieve this aim, five objectives were prepared. In the literature review, a background of lean production and construction are illustrated; methods and approaches of lean construction along with the benefits and barriers of lean are also critically reviewed. However, the literature did not show any signs of lean practices in Jordan. In addition, supply chain and logistics, in a global sense, are clarified along with the differences between traditional and lean logistics. Most importantly, the literature review shows the challenges affecting logistics in the construction industry including the health and safety regulation factor; inventory factor; material preservation factor; labour performance and material handling factor (performance factor); planning factor; transportation factor; continuous improvement factor; and transparency and information exchange factor. In terms of the research methodology used in this study, the researcher adopted the research-onion model (Saunders et al., 2009). The research tended towards positivism, realism and value-free stances in terms of philosophy, and the search approach used was a combination of inductive and deductive. The strategy of research first included a case study (semi-structured interview), and secondly a survey which considers the choice of this research as a mixed method. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were administered among nine experts in the Jordanian construction industry. This qualitative data investigated the current status of construction logistics in Jordan, factors affecting Jordanian construction logistics and the benefits and barriers of implementing lean practices. Secondly, the results of the semi-structured interviews and the literature review were utilised in the second data collection (questionnaire) in a wider section where 150 stakeholders participated. The descriptive outcomes and factor analysis show that planning is the leading factor (challenges) affecting construction logistics in Jordan. This is followed by the transportation factor, transparency and information exchange factor, continuous improvement factor, material preservation factor, inventory factor and finally the material handling factor. Moreover, the outcomes also show that the awareness and implementation of lean planning tools and practices are still underestimated. Furthermore, the Kruskal-Wallis test and logistics regression were used to find the different views among stakeholders (consultant, contractor and supplier) in regards to factors (challenges) affecting construction logistics, lean planning tools and practices. ISM (Interpretive Structural Modelling) was exploited to build final models, explain all the relationships between variables and level them in different stages from bottom (greatest influence) to top (lowest influence). The models included factors affecting construction logistics (ISM-1), lean planning tools (ISM-2) and lean practices (ISM-3). Fulfilling the aim of this research offers both academics and practitioners contributions to the study of lean logistics. For example, academics will be able to use this research to identify initial indicators and tools for further in-depth studies related to lean logistics within developed and developing countries, whereas managers from different Jordanian construction companies (consultant, contractor, or supplier) will gain added insight into and guidance on lean logistics challenges and use of lean planning tools and practices. This will ultimately help managers assess, reframe and prioritise their managerial practices.

The aim of the thesis is to report on how construction companies are approaching the PFI market and the strategies which they are adopting in the PFI industry. Utilising material from semi-structured interviews with three categories of construction company, small, medium-size and large, consideration is given to: the structural characteristics in the PFI industry; the barrier to entry in the PFI industry; the problems constraining the development in the PFI industry; and the strategies which construction companies are adopting in the PFI industry, in order to establish whether Porter's framework of an emerging industry is applicable to the PFI industry. Consideration is also given to the applicability of the research findings to existing business and strategic management literature. The research finding suggest that construction companies in the PFI industry are adopting a number of strategies which are compatible with those suggested in existing business and strategic management literature. The research findings also suggest that Porter's emerging industry framework has limited applicability to the PFI industry namely because: his framework is generic and of a general nature; all industries are likely to have characteristics which are unique; and his framework is based on industries that involve the manufacture of a standard product.