No description available.

No description available.

There are several challenging engineering and management problems that occur on construction sites. Failure in managing construction site problems results in a high proportion of rework, defects, delays, disputes and cost overruns on construction projects. In site management, knowledge is often embedded not only in documents and repositories but also in organisational routines, processes, practices and norms. However, site management teams still do not have a systematic approach to managing knowledge. Knowledge management (KM) processes can effectively be used to enable construction site managers deal with on-site problems and risks in a systematic and efficient way. With regard to these problems, the aim of this research was to investigate the improvement of construction site management practices through the integration of knowledge management processes. The research methodology adopted consisted of several methods. A literature review on site management practices and knowledge management as first undertaken . This was followed by case studies involving five construction sites which sought to investigate the key problems of site management practices and to examine existing knowledge management practices on the construction site. They also explored how KM processes could improve current site management practices. The cases tudy findings underpinned by literature results were used to develop a conceptual framework to managing construction knowledge that is entrenched in site management processes. The integrated K&4 framework (incorporating both proactive and reactive approaches) was intended to enable site managers to adopt a knowledge management approach to addressing site management problems. The framework was encapsulated in a computer-based prototype system (developed using Microsoft Visual Basic) to simplify the use of the integrated KM framework and provide construction organisations with a practical tool. Evaluation of the prototype system was carried out by industry practitioners and construction researchers to assess its appropriateness and functionality. It was established that the prototype system was highly effective in enabling site managers to address site management problems from a knowledge management perspective. Several benefits of the system were also identified. It is concluded that construction site management practices can be improved if the knowledge dimensions of the problems are well understood and appropriately managed. This research has developed an integrated KM framework that provides a structured approach to achieving this. The framework is simple to use, requires a relatively short time to implement, is scalable to any type of project and can easily be deployed on any construction site. Knowledge gains economic value when it is used to solve problems, explore opportunities and make decisions. The developed prototype system is expected to increase the ability of the site manager to learn from previous experience and to better address any site management problems that may occur. It also enables the site manager to be proactive in minimising the number of problems that occur on the construction site and to reduce the impact of those that do occur.

This research was founded in the perception that value management (VM) can play a vital role in promoting sustainability thinking and issues at critical decision making times in the early stages of the construction project process. As a value enhancement technique, VM should have included many differing issues of sustainability, as they would affect the quality of the outcome. The term sustainability may not be used frequently in VM, but issues such as energy efficient, minimisation of waste, good indoor environment, visual effects, low running cost, user comfort for example, are basic considerations for VM practitioners. The features of VM such as the role of VM participants, knowledge dissemination opportunity, strategic time, effective process and effective tools and techniques, lend VM into considering issues related to sustainability. However, the absence of research-based literature and the superficial discussion in this area by existing published papers indicated that the use of VM to integrate sustainability into construction has not been given much attention by either researchers or the VM community in the UK. The lack of information in this area is unsettling. It leads to the perception that VM community and researchers are unaware of the importance of integrating sustainability issues into VM and the potential of VM in bringing sustainability into projects. To remedy this situation, it was proposed to increase the knowledge about the integration of sustainability within VM, before enabling deeper evaluation of the consideration given to sustainability issues within present practices of VM. Thus, the aims of this research are firstly, to propose the use of VM as a means to integrate sustainability issues into the early stages of a construction project and secondly, to enable the evaluation of the quality and quantity of consideration given to the issues of sustainability within VM practices. In achieving the first aim, arguments were made to support the use of VM for improving sustainability consideration in project process by discussing the inherent strengths of VM and the relationship that exists between these two. It was revealed that the levels of sustainability consideration varied across workshops. The cause of the variation on sustainability consideration was still unclear but it was believed that part of it was due to the barriers to integration that had been identified in Survey 2. To achieve the second aim, this research has developed an evaluation tool called ASVM. This tool was subjected to two evaluation phases to validate and verify its use and limitations before it can be introduced to the industry. In the first evaluation phase, called the testing exercise, the tool was brought into VM workshops and then used to assess the consideration given to sustainability issues within those workshops. The second evaluation phase, called the verification study, took place to evaluate the tool's usefulness and practicability. It was concluded that the ASVM tool can be used to evaluate the consideration of sustainability issues in VM but a few improvements to the tool are necessary before it can be adapted to the industry. Lessons learned from these studies were discussed and the use of the ASVM tool in the VM workshop was reevaluated. Based on the findings of these two activities, the integration of sustainability within VM was reappraised. This research lays the foundation of new thinking in construction, as sustainability is a vision for tomorrow and VM should continuously improve the provision of services to meet the growing demand for better value and quality.

Performance measurement has become evermore critical to business success and has been subject to a considerable amount of research and attention over the past two decades The inadequacy of traditional financially based performance measurement and the introduction of non-financial measures have been the triggers for much of this research and attention. Moreover, the Egan and Latham reports have advocated performance improvement in the construction industry, with performance measurement being a key element. Many frameworks and tools have been developed to address the recent advancements in the area. The frameworks / tools most utilised in the UK construction industry are the Key Performance Indicators (KPI), the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model, and the Balanced Scorecard. Other frameworks have been utilised in other countries, such as the Baldrige Excellence Model in the USA, and further frameworks exist in literature. Construction companies have had to face the dilemma of choosing among the different performance measurement frameworks / tools available, or face the confusion that can be caused by using more than one simultaneously. Hence, the aim of this research is to develop a framework that measures business performance in a more comprehensive manner. The scope of the research is to focus on construction contracting organisations, as a proof of concept, with possible future modifications / generalisations to other types of construction companies. An analysis of the gaps in knowledge in business performance measurement, conducted based on the literature review, came to confirm the need for this research. A `Construction Strategy Map' was devised to measure strategic performance in the framework, based on the strategy map feature of the Balanced Scorecard but adapted for construction contracting organisations. An illustrative case study was presented to show how the Construction Strategy Map was used to develop an organisational strategy map in a major UK contracting organisation. Another tool for measuring excellence performance in the framework, the `Construction Excellence Model', was also devised, and based on the initial hybrid framework previously developed in this research. A statistical analysis was used to confirm the model that addressed the issues of reliability and validity of the questionnaire survey as a measuring instrument, evaluated the criteria and sub-criteria of the model using confidence intervals and factor analysis, and computed empirical weights of the model criteria using factor regression coefficients. The performance measurement framework in its entirety, as well as its components (the integrated methodology, the Construction Strategy Map, and the Construction Excellence Model) were validated through expert feedback. The framework was further evaluated in terms of performance measurement frameworks in business and construction management literature and the performance improvement techniques of six sigma, lean construction, knowledge management and sustainable construction, to strengthen its external validity. Finally, the conclusions, benefits and limitations of the framework, recommendations to industry and possible further work in research were discussed.

In recent years, construction information management has greatly benefited from advancesin Information and Communication Technology (ICT) increasing the speed of information flow, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of information communication, and reducing the cost of information transfer. Current ICT support has been extended to construction site offices. However, construction projects typically take place in the field where construction personnel have difficulty in gaining access to conventional information systems for their information requirements. The advances in affordable mobile devices, increases in wireless network transfer speeds and enhancements in mobile application performance, give mobile computing a powerful potential to improve on-site construction information management. This research project aims to explore how mobile computing can be implemented to manage information on construction sites through the development of a framework. Various research methods and strategies were adopted to achieve the defined aim of this research. These methods include an extensive literature review in both areas of construction information management and mobile computing; case studies that investigate construction information management on construction sites; a web-based survey for the investigation of the existing mechanism for on-site information retrieval and transfer; and a case study of the validation of the framework. Based on the results obtained from the literature review, case studies and the survey,the developed framework identifies the primary factors that influence the implementation of mobile computing in construction site information management, and the inter relationships between those factors. Each of these primary factors is further divided into sub-factors that describe the detailed features of relevant primary factors. In order to explore links between sub-factors, the top-level framework is broken down into different sub-frameworks, each of which presents the specific links between two primary factors. One of the applications for the developed framework is the selection of a mobile computing strategy for managing on-site construction information. The overall selection procedure has three major steps: the definition of on-site information management objectives; the identification of mobile computing strategy; and the selection of appropriate mobile computing technologies. The evaluation and validity of the selection procedure is demonstrated through an illustrative constructions cenario.

In order to probe the application of TQM within Small and Medium Sized UK Construction-Related Organisations, a study was conducted on 63 SMEs; 20 (31.7%) of these reported implementation of TQM on their management system. For this purpose, a monitoring and assessment tool was developed, incorporating within it the TQM implementation quality features or techniques, grouped in 10 sub principles. The rate of TQM commitment and advancement was then measured for each organisation. The study was designed to assess the levels of advancement of implementation constructs in both UK TQM and non- TQM Construction related SMEs. The research was conducted in four stages: exploratory, descriptive, empirical and analytic research. The exploratory stage involved an extensive literature review for searching TQM models and critical success factors. The Powell (1995) instrument was selected as the criterion for the critical success factors, with the justification provided for the selection, by comparing and evaluating it with other existing and validated instruments such as Saraph et al, 1989; Flynn et al, 1995; Black and Porter, 1996 and Ahire et al, 1996. The descriptive study involved a questionnaire survey of construction related SMEs in the UK. The research design also included: <ol><li>an empirical investigation to assessth e critical successf actors and levels of TQM advancementin the UK construction SMEs,</li> <li>identification of the advocated advantages associated with the implementation,</li> <li>measuring the success of TQM and assessment of the business and organisation performance,</li> <li>assessment of the competitive environment. The survey was conducted to investigate the four stated issues and finally,</li> <li>to ascertain the combined effect of TQM practices on the business and organisation performance in the context of organisation size, TQM maturity and union density. The results of the surveys provided the levels of implementation of TQM in both TQM and Non-TQM organisations. The survey results of the study indicated that while TQM deploying organisations were more advanced in the observation of the deployment constructs, non-TQM organisations exhibited marked levels of achievement of implementation constructs.</li></ol> The empirical and analytical research involved in subjecting the developed Total Quality-Self Monitoring and Assessment Rating Tool (TQ-SMART) Model to a structural analysis based on the computation of the TQM relative advancement indices. The TQ-SMART was developed consisting of 10 TQM constructs with 34 independent variables (items). This resulted in the 10 constructs having high cronbach values. The TQ-SMART model was found to be valid, based on the goodness of fit indices. (Field 2000). It also exhibited strong undimensionality, reliability, convergent, discriminant and criterion-related validities. The structural models demonstrated and built in this study hypothesised and tested the relationship among the ten TQM deployment constructs and their contribution to the UK Construction-related SME's business and organisational performance indicators (BOPI) and competitive advantage. The explanatory research involved a detailed case study on three organisations. An interpretative approach was used to gain further insights in the implementation of TQM. This included both non-TQM and TQM deploying organisations. Though various assessment models exist, and literature has examined issues such as organisations needing to identify the unused capabilities, there is a lack of formal methods of working out the unused capabilities or conducting empirical studies. The application of the relative advancement index will prove particularly useful as benchmarks for comparison with other TQM deploying organisations. The Commitment and Advancement indices generated by the TQ-SMART Model serves as an assessment and monitoring mechanism for TQM deployment organisations at the same time as an assessment mechanism for non-TQM deploying organisations wishing to identify their existing levels of quality initiatives. Quality Managers can use this model as well as Senior Management to assess their strengths and weaknesses on the deployment constructs necessary for the effective and efficiency implementation of TQM. The research concluded that the conceptual model though not generalisable was still indicative of the general trends within the UK Construction Related SMEs.

No description available.

This thesis is concerned with the application of project management techniques and systems implemented in the United Arab Emirates. Areas of current weakness in the application of project management in the Gulf area were identified, examined and analyzed. Three case studies regarding the implementation of project management, in the UAE were used as a basis for detailed examination. The author's extensive field experience, together with research into current practices in project management both in the U.A.E. and internationally, was combined to critically appraise the particular case studies. Findings indicate that the implementation of project management techniques, systems and approaches in the U.A.E. is comparatively new, and is not being effectively implemented, particularly in the areas of:- -Early participation and preparation of the project brief. -The formulation of the feasibility study. -Establishing project strategy. -Monitoring design criteria. -Monitoring and controlling construction activities. -Controlling commissioning, maintenance, handing over and the close-out activities. -Client and cultural impact. Recommendations are made that would facilitate improvements.

The UK construction industry is being challenged to produce economically, socially and environmentally acceptable products; to satisfy its stakeholders, to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the construction processes and to address resource constraints and sustainable goals. In this context research and development (R&amp;D) activities are identified as vital to address the challenges faced by the construction industry. Despite the importance, there are number of issues that hinder the success of construction R&amp;D activities such as lack of accountability of the R&amp;D resources, inadequate mechanisms to evaluate the success, output not addressing the requirements of the stakeholders, lack of communication and coordination between the parties involved in the R&amp;D process etc. Consequently, these issues have resulted in producing research results with low applicability and have discouraged the investment towards construction R&amp;D. Furthermore, it has been revealed that the cause of a majority of the issues in construction R&amp;D is directly or indirectly rooted with the lack of evaluation mechanisms implying the need for performance measurement (PM). Therefore this study addresses this eminent need by exploring the influence of PM on the construction R&amp;D. The study was argued to be residing in the interpretivism paradigm. A single case study method was used to refine a conceptual framework developed through literature review and expert interviews. Semi structured interviews and a questionnaire survey were used as the data collection techniques. Content analysis and cognitive mapping techniques were used for the analysis of the semi structured interviews whilst descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis of the questionnaire survey. The study reveals critical success factors (CSFs) which need to be managed by PM to influence the success of construction R&amp;D. Further, the study reveals that there is a discrepancy between the importance and implementation of CSFs thus, justifying the need for PM within the construction R&amp;D. Moreover, the study introduces a Performance Measurement System, which evaluates the success of construction R&amp;D activities.