Implementing risk management (RM) effectively in construction projects and organisations has long been recognised as key to ensuring successful project performance. Therefore, it has become increasingly vital for construction organisations to have RM as an integral part of their project management practice. Such necessity has driven significant increase in research on RM practice in the construction industry. However, little research has been conducted to systematically investigate the RM implementation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s construction industry. Therefore, this research study was aimed at thoroughly investigating RM implementation in this industry toward developing an appropriate framework for improving existing practice. Specifically, this research study has developed a RM framework for enhancing RM implementation practice in construction firms and an informed list of best practice recommendations, all of which aid as a road map for implementing an effective RM system, thereby contributing to the enhancement of practice. In addition, the research has developed a RM maturity model purposely for measuring firms’ existing RM maturity level and identifying key areas for further improvement. Mixed method approach was chosen for the purpose of addressing the research aim and objectives. The first stage of the approach involved a comprehensive review of relevant literature. Then, a pilot study and two questionnaire surveys were designed and distributed to professionals from construction organisations in the GCC countries. Moreover, six case studies from real-life projects were conducted. The RM framework was validated through a series of experts’ interviews. This research has identified and ranked 62 key risk factors affecting construction project performance, and were categorised under four levels, namely: country level, industry and market level, firm capability level, and project implementation level. Also, this research study has identified 28 RM maturity criteria and 15 critical barriers to RM implementation. These were used to develop a comprehensive RM maturity system, which can serve as a guide for determining the RM capability of construction organisations to enable them decide on the most appropriate implementation strategies. Moreover, the case studies provide rich in-depth qualitative data that explains, among others, the status of RM implementation in practice and the level of maturity displayed by GCC construction organisations on this subject. The cross–case comparison results substantiated the survey findings, and highlighted the influence of the firms’ characteristics on the RM implementation. Also, the findings serve as a case-study from GCC countries from which other countries in the Middle East and developing world can benefit immensely from the lessons learnt, since these countries share a lot in common as far as RM practices are concerned. The empirical results and outcomes of this research are arguably the first to be presented for the GCC construction industry, and therefore have a high potential of contributing significantly to the existing body of knowledge and understanding in RM. The results of this research do not only fill a major gap in the literature on the subject of RM practice in this industry, but also offer greater awareness and understanding of RM implementation in construction firms. Future studies would be conducted to assess the RM maturity in other projects or in other countries and to investigate the relationship between the RM maturity and improvement in project performance. For instance, the case studies would be performed to uncover RM implementation and the associated managerial implications which will allow practitioners to understand the real implementation issues in practice and the experience of firms that is worth learning from.

A phenomenological study was conducted to explore and understand the personal experiences and meaning ascribed by senior leaders within a large multidisciplinary construction company. An effort was made to understand how they personally experienced leading others, what they learnt about themselves, what challenged them most, and what support, if any they had during their leadership of large-scale organisational change. The research found that there is a significant personal cost to the individual. This cost comes in terms of career, work-life balance and even reputation. It provides an opportunity to grow in self-knowledge, provided leaders are open to learn and reflect and that there is a substantive support structure both internally and externally to the organisation in order to ‘survive’. Without this malleable disposition, the already high cost escalates to the extent that it could be life threatening. In spite of the prolific literature available, the leaders claim that shareholders and most others do not understand the extreme length of time it takes to start and embed change that is sustainable. Without that understanding from the other role players, the leader carries not only the blame but also the scars of failed change. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Ο χρονικός προγραμματισμός αποτελεί τον ακρογωνιαίο λίθο του συστήματος διαχείρισης των έργων και, λόγω της σημασίας του, τα τελευταία χρόνια αποτελεί πεδίο εντατικής έρευνας τόσο σε επίπεδο ακαδημαϊκών εργασιών όσο και στην επιχειρηματική κοινότητα. Το χρονοπρόγραμμα συνδέεται με δύο θεμελιώδη χαρακτηριστικά των έργων: την διάρκεια ολοκλήρωσης των εργασιών (άρα και τον χρόνο διάθεσης του έργου προς χρήση) και το κόστος κατασκευής. Η σημασία του χρονικού προγραμματισμού αποκτά πρόσθετο ειδικό βάρος αν αναλογιστεί κανείς τις μεγάλες απαιτήσεις, την πολυπλοκότητα, το μέγεθος, την διαφοροποίηση, τις κατασκευαστικές λεπτομέρειες, τα ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά απόδοσης (προδιαγραφές ποιότητας, ασφάλειας, αντοχής, περιβαλλοντικής μέριμνας, κ.λπ.) αλλά και τις ανάγκες των χρηστών των τεχνικών έργων. Η διαθεσιμότητα και η κατανομή των ανθρώπων, των μηχανημάτων, των υλικών και του εξοπλισμού που απαιτούνται για την εκτέλεση ενός έργου, όπως εύλογα προκύπτει, επηρεάζουν καταλυτικά τον χρονικό προγραμματισμό. Όλα τα παραπάνω συνθέτουν τους απαιτούμενους πόρους ή, διαφορετικά, τα μέσα παραγωγής για την εκτέλεση του έργου. Οι διαφορετικές επιλογές κατανομής των πόρων, ενδέχεται να οδηγήσουν σε σημαντική αύξηση ή μείωση του κόστους υλοποίησης, στην καθυστέρηση ή γενικά στην χρονική μετακίνηση εργασιών, στην επιλογή εναλλακτικών πόρων ή τρόπων εκτέλεσης, στην κατάτμηση των δραστηριοτήτων (εφόσον υπάρχει η δυνατότητα) ή ακόμα και στον συνολικό αναπρογραμματισμό του έργου. Για την επίλυση των προβλημάτων κατανομής των πόρων, έχουν αναπτυχθεί πολλές μεθοδολογίες που βασίζονται σε μαθηματικές ή ευρετικές και μετα-ευρετικές προσεγγίσεις. Κάθε κατηγορία επίλυσης περιλαμβάνει διακριτές υποκατηγορίες και έχει συγκεκριμένες απαιτήσεις (προϋποθέσεις), οι οποίες προφανώς επηρεάζουν την αποτελεσματικότητα του μηχανισμού επίλυσης και φυσικά το αποτέλεσμα. Κοινό στοιχείο σε όλες αυτές τις περιπτώσεις είναι η πολυπλοκότητα του προβλήματος που αντιμετωπίζεται και το πλήθος των παραμέτρων και των περιορισμών, συνήθως συγκρουσιακών, που επηρεάζουν τις τελικές λύσεις. Στην παρούσα Διατριβή αναλύεται ακριβώς αυτή η προβληματική της κατανομής των πόρων στα τεχνικά έργα και οι πιο διαδεδομένες μεθοδολογικές και τεχνικές προσεγγίσεις. Η έρευνα εστιάζει στην βελτιστοποίηση προβλημάτων πολλαπλών στόχων που προσομοιάζουν στα πραγματικά δεδομένα. Τα εν λόγω προβλήματα χαρακτηρίζονται από την ύπαρξη περιορισμών στην διαθεσιμότητα των πόρων, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του χρόνου, την απαίτηση πολλαπλών πόρων (διαφορετικές κατηγορίες μέσων παραγωγής) για την υλοποίηση του έργου, την ύπαρξη γενικευμένων σχέσεων διαδοχής ανάμεσα στις δραστηριότητες που συνθέτουν το έργο και την δυνατότητα εναλλακτικών τρόπων εκτέλεσης των δραστηριοτήτων. Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη τις παραπάνω παραμέτρους, σχεδιάζεται ένα μοντέλο βελτιστοποίησης στην βάση των επιμέρους όρων κόστους των έργων και αναπτύσσεται μία εφαρμογή Τεχνητής Νοημοσύνης με χρήση Γενετικού Αλγορίθμου σε γλώσσα προγραμματισμού Visual Basic for Applications στο φιλικό περιβάλλον του Microsoft Excel. Οι επιδόσεις του αλγορίθμου σε ικανό πλήθος προβλημάτων για τα οποία γνωρίζουμε εκ των προτέρων την βέλτιστη λύση (ή μία πολύ καλή λύση κοντά στην βέλτιστη) είναι ιδιαίτερα ικανοποιητικές. Τα συμπεράσματα αξιολόγησης της προτεινόμενης μεθοδολογίας βελτιστοποίησης είναι θετικά, με αποτέλεσμα η γενίκευση του μοντέλου σε μεγαλύτερα ή και πιο σύνθετα προβλήματα να παρουσιάζει εξαιρετικό ενδιαφέρον. / --

Recent years has seen a significant drive away from traditional procurement routes with contractors finding themselves with an increasing responsibility for control of design - a process they have had little experience in managing. They now have to adapt accordingly. The learning curve is steep, not least because many projects must now be delivered fast track while co-ordinating increasingly complex fabric and content of buildings without a platform of accepted good practice to manage the design process. This is a major factor preventing the UK construction industry from delivering projects on time, to budget and to the specified quality. There is a need to educate an increasing number of people in design management techniques to equip them to manage today's fast moving and demanding projects. However, many current design management tools are insufficiently developed for industry application. Therefore, to improve design management in the industry, current techniques must be modified to align them with the needs of the modern design manager. This research has developed and tested a training initiative aimed at improving design management practice within a major UK Design and Construct Contractor. It comprises a Design Management Handbook, Design Management Training, Team Support and Project Monitoring. The Design Management Handbook is the core of the training initiative. It addresses critical aspects of design management practice and provides design management tools. Training provides guidance to project teams on the tools and practices. In Team Support project teams are supported in the implementation of the new practices and tools to help embed new ways of working in company practice. Project Monitoring establishes the impact of the new practices on project performance to demonstrate that they are working and thus reinforce change. To establish the training initiative's effectiveness and key findings, the impact of the initiative on design management performance has been explored. The research has established which practices and tools were used, which were not, as well as an understanding the applicability and performance of each Handbook practice and tool. From this, barriers to implementing new design management tools in industry were identified and strategies developed in order to overcome such barriers.

A phenomenological study was conducted to explore and understand the personal experiences and meaning ascribed by senior leaders within a large multidisciplinary construction company. An effort was made to understand how they personally experienced leading others, what they learnt about themselves, what challenged them most, and what support, if any they had during their leadership of large-scale organisational change. The research found that there is a significant personal cost to the individual. This cost comes in terms of career, work-life balance and even reputation. It provides an opportunity to grow in self-knowledge, provided leaders are open to learn and reflect and that there is a substantive support structure both internally and externally to the organisation in order to ‘survive’. Without this malleable disposition, the already high cost escalates to the extent that it could be life threatening. In spite of the prolific literature available, the leaders claim that shareholders and most others do not understand the extreme length of time it takes to start and embed change that is sustainable. Without that understanding from the other role players, the leader carries not only the blame but also the scars of failed change. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Project risk assessment is an effective tool for planning and controlling cost, time and achieving the technical performance of a building construction project. Construction projects often face a lot of uncertainties, which places building construction projects at the risk of cost, time overruns as well as poor quality delivery. Considering the limited resources of developing countries, there is need to complete building projects on-time, on-budget, and to meet optimal quality hence, risk management is an important part of the decision making process in construction industry as it determines the success or failure of construction projects. In line with this need, this research aims to establish a system to improve the time, cost and quality performance of building construction projects in developing countries, through a comprehensive risk management model that ensures the expectations of clients are met. To achieve the aim of this research, a mixed methodological approach was adopted. Through the review of literature, a conceptual risk management framework suitable to elaborate risk assessment of building construction projects especially for developing countries was developed. A questionnaire survey using a nonprobability sampling technique was conducted to elicit information from construction professionals in Nigeria to assess their perception of 79 risk factors identified from literature review based on the likelihood of occurrence and impact on projects using a five point scale. Responses from 343 construction professionals were drawn from 305 contractors and subcontractors and 38 clients (private and public) within the Nigerian construction sector. Response data was subjected to descriptive statistics to depict the frequency distribution and central tendency of responses. Subsequently, the risk acceptability matrix (RAM) was adopted to categorise and prioritise risk factors. 27 critical risks that affect building construction projects were identified. A Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) model was developed by structural learning and used to examine the cause and effect relationship amongst the 27 critical risk factors. The developed BBN model was subjected to validation using a multiple case study of two building construction projects in Nigeria. The result showed the interrelation between the 27 risk factors and how they contributed to cost and time overruns as well as quality problems. The critical risks directly affecting the cost of building construction project were: fluctuation of material prices; health and safety issues; bribery and corruption; material wastage; poor site management and supervision; and time overruns. The critical factors identified to directly affect quality were: supply of defective materials; working under harsh conditions; improper construction methods; lack of protective equipment; ineffective time allocation; poor communication between involved stakeholders; and unsuitable leadership style. Time overruns on building construction projects was directly caused by: quality problems; low productivity; improper construction methods; poor communication between involved parties; delayed payments in contracts; and poor site management and supervision. As a consolidation of the findings of this research, a BBN model for identifying risk factors that directly affect time, cost and quality on building construction projects has been developed which has the potential for assisting construction stake holders to manage risks on their projects. In view of the findings, a best practice system for risk management in building construction projects in Nigeria has been developed with an implementation guide to help building construction practitioners to successfully implement risk management on their building construction projects. Suitable risk responses, also in the form of recommendations have been identified. The strategies include actions to be taken to respond to risks based on their perceived significance or acceptability as well as some positive risk responses, such as exploiting, sharing, enhancing and accepting, and other negative risk responses, such as avoidance, mitigation transfer and acceptance.

Knowledge management (KM) implementation strategies on construction projects can reap benefits such as improved performance and continuous improvement yet many projects are characterised by inefficiencies, repetition of mistakes and lack of lessons learnt. Poor skills, design changes, errors and omissions contribute to the internal failure cost element of the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) while the resultant effect of client dissatisfaction contributes to the external failure cost. COPQ is prevalent regardless of project type and has been found to be over 10% of total project cost in certain cases. While the need to reduce COPQ is definite, it is uncertain what impact KM has in its reduction. The aims of the research therefore are twofold (i) to investigate the impact of KM in reducing COPQ on construction projects (ii) to develop a KM framework for reducing COPQ on construction projects. A mixed method approach was adopted for the research with an exploratory sequential research design utilising both qualitative and quantitative inquiries to address the research aims. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaire survey were selected as the method for qualitative and quantitative data collection respectively. The interviews were conducted with 25 industry experts involved in KM strategies for large construction organisations across UK to obtain data, based on their experiences and expertise on projects, which were then analysed using content analysis. The output from the analysis yielded variables and working hypotheses which were tested through the questionnaire survey. Further data were obtained from 114 survey respondents who have iii been mostly involved in KM initiatives for large construction organisations across UK. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. From the interpretation of the entire qualitative and quantitative data, it was found that KM can be complex and difficult to manage within organisations and on projects. Although KM was perceived to have positive impact in reducing COPQ, organisations did not, and could not quantify COPQ neither could they measure the extent of the impact of KM on COPQ. Causal links were found between COPQ elements i.e. errors and omissions, design changes and poor skills, contrary to the theoretical suggestion of being mutually exclusive. It was found that KM currently has not been optimised to reduce COPQ due to a number of barriers. Optimising KM to reduce COPQ therefore involves overcoming the barriers as follows: develop performance metrics to assess the impact of KM on COPQ on projects; appoint knowledge champions to facilitate KM activities to reduce COPQ; adopt a positive organisational culture towards KM; allocate adequate time and budget for KM activities on projects; select procurement strategies that support and facilitate KM. A KM framework for reducing COPQ on construction projects was developed as an output of the research and evaluated by industry practitioners. It can be concluded that the optimisation of KM can significantly reduce COPQ. A key recommendation for industry practitioners therefore is to adopt a holistic approach to quantifying COPQ and assessing the impact of KM in reducing COPQ such as the one presented in this research. The research contributes to the body of knowledge in the area of cost reduction, quality improvements and knowledge management on projects.