Contractor pre-qualification is characterised as a multi-criteria problem with uncertain inputs. The criteria used for pre-qualification includes qualitative and quantitative information. Owing to the nature of pre-qualification, which depends on subjective judgements of construction professionals, it becomes an art rather than a science. Two approaches are found in the literature to model the contractor's pre-qualification criteria; Linear and non-linear models. The main aim of this research is to offer a rational method for contractor prequalification that enables to pre-qualify the contractors who are able to achieve the client's objectives. The main question guiding the research is how to be sure that the selected contractor is able to achieve the client's objectives. It is believed that there is an indirect relationship between the contractor's attributes and the contractor's ability to achieve the client's objectives. The time, cost and quality overruns of a project have been used as indicators to measure the contractor's ability to achieve client's objectives. To achieve this aim, the methodologies used included literature review, questionnaires, surveys, and hypothetical and real-life case studies. This work suggested improvements to the previous contractor pre-qualification models by using a hybrid model, combining the merits of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Neural Networks (NN) and Genetic Algorithms (GA) in one consolidated model called the Genetic Neural Network (GNN) model. AHP was used to establish relative weights of the contractor's pre-qualification criteria; NN was used as the main processing tool to find a relationship between the contractor's attributes and his performance. The GA was used to select the appropriate topology of the network. The data collected from questionnaires 1 and 2 were utilized to establish relative weights of contractors attributes. Hypothetical and real-life case studies from executed projects in the Gaza Strip and West Bank were collected through structured questionnaires. The actual evaluation of the contractor's attributes and the actual performance of the contractor in these projects in terms of overrun of time, cost and quality were collected. The weighted attributes were used as inputs to the GNN model. The corresponding time, cost, and quality overruns for the same case were fed as outputs to the GNN model in a supervised learning back propagation neural network. The adopted training and testing processes to develop a trained model are presented. The accuracy of the model was investigated using Average Absolute Error *^ (AAE), Mean Square Error (MSE) and correlation co-efficient (R ). The factors: AAE; MSE; and R2 showed a very good accuracy when comparing model prediction with actual real-life cases. The results revealed that there is a satisfactory relationship between the contractor attributes and the corresponding performance in terms of contractor's deviation from the client objectives. The GNN model is able to predict future contractor performance in terms of time, cost, and quality overruns. Therefore, the evolved model is able to predict the contractor performance. Key words: Pre-qualification, Contractors, Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithm, Model, Contractor Performance.

This research investigates the collaboration problems faced by the construction industry as a result of the traditional, sequential ways in which its practitioners work, and proposes nD modelling as a new approach for multi-disciplinary teams. The life-cycle of a building - from its design, construction, use, maintenance and demolition - requires and generates a large amount of information from both the supply and demand sides. The individual components that a building is comprised of have mutually reflexive relationships with one another and so changes to one parameter in a design can have positive and negative impacts upon one or more of the other components. However, the sequential way in which practitioners traditionally work, in separate, discipline-defined silos means that they are often unaware of the nature and effects of these relationships. This has resulted in the UK in a construction industry that is characterised by fragmentation and poor communication (Egan, 1998). The nD approach is holistic and aims to integrate all the data and processes related to the n or infinite number of dimensions in the whole lifecycle of a building - the geometric x, y and z dimensions, with time, acoustics, crime, thermal requirements, access, facilities management and maintenance to name a few - into one, single process. In doing so, the discipline based silos in which construction related stakeholders are based will be broken down and replaced with concurrent collaboration methods, enhanced comprehension of building plans through the use of advanced computer interfaces and better access to information by stakeholders. Information communication technologies (ICTs) can help facilitate organisational change by supporting new ways of working: the barriers of time and space between collaborators can be bridged by electronic data exchanges and telephone- and videoconferencing which allow individuals to work in both synchronous and asynchronous ways between offices in the same building or between continents throughout the world. ICTs can also facilitate better teaching and understanding in the classroom, in public participation forums and on the building site through the use of enhanced interfaces and virtual reality technology. By using an nD model as a data repository for all the information required during the building lifecycle, it can be used for decision-making and 'what-if scenario development so that the impacts of small changes to individual components upon the whole design can be established. This research proposes that for an nD modelling approach to be truly holistic, it is not sufficient to add all the dimensions and data together so that nD equals the sum of all the separate dimensions, in other words for it to be multi-disciplinary in nature. Instead, and in common with business process re-engineering approaches, if a new approach to collaboration is to have real efficiency and effectiveness gains it must be more radical in nature. It is proposed therefore that nD modelling should aim to be inter-disciplinary in nature: the approach should be greater than the sum of its constituent parts. Whilst ICTs can help facilitate better collaboration on a practical level, in order for them to be implemented successfully in teams and organisations it is essential to understand some of the social and psychological aspects of the membership and dynamics of groups. It is important to establish the social pre-requisites for successful teams - such as the existence of trust - and understand how these relationships may change, for better and for worse, as a result of electronic communication and collaboration. As a result of a literature search and a number of workshops, a framework has been developed and validated which illustrates how the currently multi-disciplinary construction industry can become more holistic and inter-disciplinary in nature by overcoming a number of barriers that currently exist. It is proposed that, although construction stakeholders continue to think and work in mono-disciplinary ways, by adopting the inter-disciplinary nD modelling approach they will be able to exploit a number of opportunities that will allow the industry to be more efficient, trusting and effective.

Clients or users of products, processes or services are being identified as potential sources of innovation in research conducted in construction sector and other sectors such as aviation and management consultancy. The recent literature has emphasised the potential role that can be played by the construction client to promote innovation in the industry, to overcome the criticism the construction industry face due to its perceived lack of innovation despite having capabilities and potential. However, the lack of knowledge on the desirable characteristics of construction client was identified as one of the barriers for the construction client to be an effective innovation promoter. This background drove the author to formulate a research with the aim of "improving the role of the client in promoting innovation". The multiple holistic case studies were used as the research strategy and semistructured interviews were used as the principal data collection technique. The primary data analysis techniques used for the study were content analysis and cognitive mapping. The findings were analysed across cases and triangulated with literature to consolidate findings Based on the research findings it is concluded that client can increase the efficiency of his/her own duties toward the construction process, stimulate team dynamics and team action through the championing behaviour which intern can strengthen the innovation process that lead to the innovative product. The interpersonal activities such as being a team player and promoting respect for people, motivational activities and informational activities such as knowledge and information dissemination are recommended as constituent of the championing behaviour that promote innovation in construction projects. Further, it is concluded that the personal (or organisational) skills such as competence, value judgement, flexibility, and the self motivation will energise the success of the championing behaviour XI

Despite the fact that there exists several construction forms of contract that aim to standardize the contractual clauses in relation to the construction industry, the adoption of the same has been subject to major modifications and alteration endangering the overall spirit and consistency of the contractual forms. Within the construction industry, many parties are involved in projects. Those parties mainly include the Client and the Contractor, in addition to the Project Manager, Project Consultant(s), Subcontractor(s) and Suppliers. Hence, contracts need to be customized, agreed, and signed to formalize parties’ relationships. Knowing that the Middle East region has, and will continue to have, major construction projects during the upcoming years, it is of major importance to understand the nature of Standard Contractual forms being used and the modifications that are being introduced, noting that well configured contractual clauses play a major role in simplifying part of the complexity associated with the construction environment. This research focuses on standard construction contracts in practice between 2005 and 2015, in the Middle East, with their corresponding conditions. The aim of this research is to investigate the major modifications originally introduced to provide additional immunity to a certain project party within the Middle East region to improve construction management performance. This is achieved by first reviewing the various international standard forms of contract, and general contractual issues, and then further investigating the reasons and implications of major modifications introduced to these standard forms of contract. A single case study is examined in this study, within which questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews are used as the data collection techniques. It is found that one of the most commonly used standard contractual forms between 2005 and 2015 in the Middle East is the Conditions of Contract for Works of Civil Engineering Construction 4th Edition. The key findings highlight the reasons for the introduction of major modifications as being over protecting one of the parties or providing additional flexibility to one of the parties. Furthermore, the implications of introducing such modifications are identified as compounding the issues of project performance in terms of delays and cost escalation. This study recommends measures and modifications that would allow for contextual appropriateness, yet mitigate the impact of the same through the introduction of a proper balanced contract which is fit for purpose.

Much attention has been paid to the measurement of BIM benefits in both industry and academic spheres that, in most cases, have proven its benefits and prompted an increase in BIM adoption. However, BIM is a process synonymous with collaboration that, in the context of construction, requires the reconfiguration of a complex set of actors, technologies and activities into an information system (IS) that can facilitate this and produce the anticipated benefits. Important links between implementation practices, support and benefits have received little focus and it is these interdependencies that this thesis attempts to address. The principle argument presented is for a more comprehensive approach to benefits assessment extending it beyond the normative technologically deterministic cost-benefit approaches dominant in many existing methods. Project Aim: To examine the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in construction projects; exploring how the conditions of implementation influence project performance and how this can be comprehensively evaluated to inform strategies and solutions to improve implementation success. Project Objectives: I. Review current practice and implementation approaches of BIM within the construction industry. 2. Conduct an exploratory case study within an organisation adopting BIM to understand the constitutive elements of the implementation process for the development of a success measurement model. 3. Develop a systematic approach to capture BIM implementation success against project performance within construction projects. 4. Demonstrate the significance of systematically measuring implementation success for lessons learnt and best practice development, and project performance.

Small and Micro sized construction contracting organisations (SCCOs) has a significant contribution to the overall wellbeing of the Construction Industry. Although micro and small sized enterprises have little impact individually they are collectively a significant contributor within the Construction Industry and indeed the UK economy. Despite their influence, SCCOs work independently of each other and take an insubordinate role within the supply chain and without having an authoritative support structure ensures they remain fragmented within the industry. This offers a fascinating dichotomy of influence versus representation and offers a theme to analyse how best to conceptualise a framework to aid critical success factors for SCCOs. In order to accomplish the framework the aim and objectives have been identified. The aim of this study is to identify the main factors affecting the development of micro and small sized contracting organisations in the construction industry, together with the critical success factors affecting their survival, and to develop an appropriate framework for their improved success. A qualitative research was conducted with thirty one small and micro sized Chartered Building Companies and this was further supported by a quantitative based research carried out with forty Chartered Building Companies to give a more robust accord to the research findings. A case study of five organisations validated the resulting conceptual framework. The contributions to knowledge offered from this research are: (i) academia; a basis that can be used for further and future research in this field of work. (ii) Business management forums: as a reference to support SCCOs. (iii) As an aid for small companies; established success factors that can be referenced by other SCCOs and (iv) to further develop formal and informal taught programmes.

The vast majority of researches in the scheduling context focused on finding optimal or near-optimal predictive schedules under different scheduling problem characteristics. In the construction industry, predictive schedules are often produced in advance in order to direct construction operations and to support other planning activities. However, construction projects operate in dynamic environments subject to various real-time events, which usually disrupt the predictive optimal schedules, leading to schedules neither feasible nor optimal. Accordingly, the development of a dynamic scheduling model which can accommodate these real-time events would be of great importance for the successful implementation of construction scheduling systems. This research sought to develop a dynamic scheduling based solution which can be practically used for real time analysis and scheduling of construction projects, in addition to resources optimization for construction enterprises. The literature reviews for scheduling, dynamic scheduling, and optimization showed that despite the numerous researches presented and application performed in the dynamic scheduling field within manufacturing and other industries, there was dearth in dynamic scheduling literature in relation to the construction industry. The research followed two main interacting research paths, a path related to the development of the practical solution, and another path related to the core model development. The aim of the first path (or the proposed practical solution path) was to develop a computer-based dynamic scheduling framework which can be used in practical applications within the construction industry. Following the scheduling literature review, the construction project management community s opinions about the problem under study and the user requirements for the proposed solution were collected from 364 construction project management practitioners from 52 countries via a questionnaire survey and were used to form the basis for the functional specifications of a dynamic scheduling framework. The framework was in the form of a software tool fully integrated with current planning/scheduling practices with all core modelling which can support the integration of the dynamic scheduling processes to the current planning/scheduling process with minimal experience requirement from users about optimization. The second research path, or the dynamic scheduling core model development path, started with the development of a mathematical model based on the scheduling models in literature, with several extensions according to the practical considerations related to the construction industry, as investigated in the questionnaire survey. Scheduling problems are complex from operational research perspective; so, for the proposed solution to be functional in optimizing construction schedules, an optimization algorithm was developed to suit the problem's characteristics and to be used as part of the dynamic scheduling model's core. The developed algorithm contained few contributions to the scheduling context (such as schedule justification heuristics, and rectification to schedule generation schemes), as well as suggested modifications to the formulation and process of the adopted optimization technique (particle swarm optimization) leading to considerable improvement to this techniques outputs with respect to schedules quality. After the completion of the model development path, the first research path was concluded by combining the gathered solution's functional specifications and the developed dynamic scheduling model into a software tool, which was developed to verify & validate the proposed model s functionalities and the overall solution s practicality and scalability. The verification process started with an extensive testing of the model s static functionality using several well recognized scheduling problem sets available in literature, and the results showed that the developed algorithm can be ranked as one of the best state-of-the-art algorithms for solving resource-constrained project scheduling problems. To verify the software tool and the dynamic features of the developed model (or the formulation of data transfers from one optimization stage to the next), a case study was implemented on a construction entity in the Arabian Gulf area, having a mega project under construction, with all aspects to resemble an enterprise structure. The case study results showed that the proposed solution reasonably performed under large scale practical application (where all optimization targets were met in reasonable time) for all designed schedule preparation processes (baseline, progress updates, look-ahead schedules, and what-if schedules). Finally, to confirm and validate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed solution, the solution's framework and the verification results were presented to field experts, and their opinions were collected through validation forms. The feedbacks received were very positive, where field experts/practitioners confirmed that the proposed solution achieved the main functionalities as designed in the solution s framework, and performed efficiently under the complexity of the applied case study.

Electronic Business (e-Business) is recognised as being able to help organisations in the construction industry to achieve competitiveness and substantial benefits. However, the uptake of e-business in the construction industry has been relatively limited and ineffective. Previous research covers the body of knowledge about how to identify the value of e-business once it has been created or how to identify the capabilities that can create value. There is no guidance available to help organisations to maximise their leverage by investing intelligently and matching the size of their demand for e-business solutions to the size of the market they plan to supply. This research aims to identify the strategic e-business needs and requirements of organisations in the construction industry; it helps them to scan or position their current situation, and provide a holistic approach to assist them in developing an executable e-business strategy. In order to achieve the aim and the formulated objectives, a multi-methodological research design and a pragmatic mixed-methods approach, involving a combination of both quantitative and qualitative datasets, were adopted to investigate the e-business practices of organisations in the industry. These include an exploratory investigation (an industry survey with 250 industry organisations), and an explanatory investigation (four case studies with specific industry end-user companies). The collected data was analysed and problems were identified; the elements for a holistic approach to manage e-business implementation emerged. Subsequently, a Strategic e-Business Framework was developed to provide a holistic approach for organisations in the construction industry to plan, execute and review their e-business strategies. The Framework enables organisations to consider the medium term (three to five years), long-term (over five to ten years), and emergent needs to derive business value. The key features of the Framework include six phases and phase gates, five functional factors, and 23 activities. The six phases include Analyse Situation, Establish Vision, Define Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Develop Action Plan, Implement Action Plan, and Review Strategy. The phases were defined to guide the IT leaders in carrying out consistent e-business planning. The outputs of each phase (phase gates) were defined to assist IT leaders in the review of procedures during their e-business implementation. The functional factors include management, people, process, technology and external environment. The factors were identified to address every facet of an organisation, and obtain collaboration efforts from both internal and external. They also ensure organisations have the opportunities to improve capabilities in these areas, and make them ready for immediate e-business implementation. Five groups of people or teams were assigned to the activities. The five groups were the Senior Management Board, IT Managers and their teams, Middle Level Management, Lower Level Management and other End-users, and external collaborators. The activities were categorised in order to provide a basis for organisations to utilise their resources, specifically human resource. Finally, a feedback loop was defined to enable the Framework to act as a cycle for going through repeatedly, which makes the continuous improvement of e-business implementation possible within organisations and provides a learning and feedback function that ensures lessons to be learned from past e-business implementation. The evaluation of the Framework was conducted via six structured interviews with industry practitioners. The findings indicated that the industry practitioners welcomed the Framework and considered it as a positive step towards e-business management.

Measurement of performance is important to the construction sector as an additional way of improving and sustaining competitiveness in the long-term. Most large construction organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) practise performance measurement because they believe it affects their business positively in the longer-term. Performance measurement is thus, recognised as an important way of keeping an organisation on track in achieving its strategic objectives. However, there are still construction organisations that believe performance measurement does not aid in creating and developing appropriate strategies for their organisations, but helps organisations in identifying areas where they did or did not perform well. The improvements in performance thus, can only be brought about through step-by-step strategic guidance to organisations to achieve their performance targets. The first step towards achieving these targets comprises the following: understand the performance measurement process of organisations, and identify the appropriate criteria that need to be measured to improve business; identify strengths and opportunities, which in turn can create a way to maximise profits for an organisation. Such an approach would help organisations target relevant performance measurements and embed them in their organisational strategy in a structured step-by-step manner. Premised on the foregoing, this research project aims to investigate potential tools for improving performance measurement practices in the construction industry. In addition, this research aims to assist organisations in implementing performance measurement in a proper manner and to help them understand the performance measurement process. The first step (objective 1) of this research is to review the generic body of literature in performance measurement to understand key concepts, definitions and existing practices and identify commonly used performance measurement tools. It is noted that there are several definitions of performance measurement. However, at its basic level, performance measurement is a process of determining how successful organisations or individuals have been in attaining their objectives and strategies. To achieve this, the outputs of an organisation's strategic and operational processes are measured in a quantifiable form; the results are used to monitor closely the performance of the organisation, internally and externally. Findings of the review (and later those of objectives 2 and 3) reveal that the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model are the two most widely known and used tools, in all sectors including construction, to measure an organisation s performance. Semi-structured interviews (objectives 2 and 3) were conducted with performance measurement directors and managers in large UK construction companies. The interviews revealed that performance measurement is being practised in organisations directly or indirectly to help improve businesses and profits. The purpose of interviews was to seek the organisations views on how they approach and conduct performance measurement and derive benefits from it. All organisations agreed that the financial aspects such as profit margins and growth, as well as non-financial aspects such as health and safety and customer satisfaction are important criteria to be measured. Both financial and non-financial criteria need to be considered and included in an organisation's strategy; they are important considerations for any future strategy development. Findings of the interviews and the literature review suggest the best way to create an organisation's strategy as the following: understand the performance measurement process of organisations and identify the appropriate criteria, which need to be measured to improve business; identify strengths and opportunities, which in turn can create a way to maximise profits for an organisation. This led to the development of a Framework (also called the Performance Measurement Migration Path) (objective 4), which would help organisations target relevant performance measurements and embed them in their organisational strategy in a structured step-by-step manner. Its implementation in organisations can make performance measurement processes easy and smooth. Evaluation (objective 5) of the framework confirms its suitability and acceptability to industry players for the use in improving the implementation of performance measurement.

Several studies have found that traditional design planning to be unreliable and a cause of workflow variability during design development. The reason given for this is that traditional design planning lacks a mechanism to control workflow. Other studies have shown that the Last Planner system (LPS) of production planning and control reduces workflow variability during the construction stage of building projects by increasing planning reliability through greater collaboration in the planning of construction tasks and better coordination of work between the building trades. It is believed that LPS can also reduce workflow variability during the design stage by increasing planning reliability through greater collaboration in the planning of design tasks and better coordination of work between the design disciplines. In recent years, there has been a move toward collaborative and coordinated working practices in design firms, which has necessitated the formation of architectural/engineering (AE) firms, where all the design disciplines are involved in developing a design, aided by Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools. It is believed that, as processes that promote collaboration and coordination, LPS and BIM can be combined to improve design workflow beyond the degree to which it might be improved by the application of either of these innovations independently. It has also been suggested that there are synergies between Lean and BIM that can be exploited during design development to remove waste, reduce workflow variability and thus improve design workflow. These theories need further testing. Using action research (AR) and working closely with thirty-three design practitioners, the researcher facilitated the implementation of LPS weekly work planning (LPS WWP) and the realization of lean principles through BIM during the design development phase of a seven-story hotel and a six-story apartment at two different AE firms in Florida. Implementation of LPS WWP focused on increasing planning reliability to reduce workflow variability. The realization of lean principles focused on reducing waste in the BIM process through greater collaboration and better coordination between the various design disciplines. A Lean/BIM interaction matrix developed by Sacks et al. (2009) was used as a framework for exploring positive interactions between twenty-four lean principles and seven BIM functionalities. Percent Plan Complete (PPC) measurements taken before and after the implementation of LPS WWP suggest that LPS WWP was effective in improving workflow in both design projects: PPC increased by an average of 12.1% in the hotel project and by an average of 13.9% in the apartment project after LPS weekly work planning was implemented, representing an upward trend in PPC and continual improvement in design workflow. Eight lean principles were realized through the seven BIM functionalities used in both design projects, resulting in thirty-three discernible positive interactions in the hotel project and twenty-nine discernible positive interactions in the apartment project and contributing to the overall improvement in design workflow. This research has demonstrated that LPS WWP can reduce design workflow variability by increasing design planning reliability and that lean principles can be realized through greater collaboration and better coordination between the various design disciplines during the BIM process to reduce waste and improve design workflow during design development. It recommends that future implementation of LPS in design projects should consider LPS at the WWP level only and during the design development phase only. It also recommends that BIM should be used during design development as a design tool and not just as a visualization tool so its lean potential can be fully exploited. Further research is suggested for identifying and addressing causes of variability in design workflow other than poor design planning.