The research set off with the rationale of understanding the cause of the unusually high cost overruns experienced in highway projects, executed in the tropical wetland setting of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. An expansive range of research from academe, revealed a strong dialectical debate between the theoretical and technical schools of thought, as to what propagates relatively higher cost overruns in public infrastructure projects. The theorists posit that optimism bias and deliberate misrepresentation by project planners, largely accounts for cost overruns in transportation infrastructure projects, and not geology/geotechnical risk as tendered by the technical school. Yet the literature continues to report inadequate geotechnical risk containment resulting in considerable post-contract cost overruns in highway projects. As a result of this contradiction, and the lack of a robust empirical analysis to this effect, this research was carried out to explore the statistical validity of geotechnical risk factors in explaining cost overruns recorded in highway projects executed in the Niger Delta region. Using the case study research strategy, 16 interviews were conducted within the 3 highway agencies in the region, longitudinal cost data was also gathered from 61 completed highway projects, along with geotechnical index data on the engineering properties of sub-grade soils at project locations. These were comprehensively analysed using an innovative multi-method approach: Thematic analysis; Documentary/archival analysis; Spatial analysis of geotechnical data sets, designed to quantitatively converge in a triangulatory log-regression model. The results of regression analysis identified that latent pathogens such as heterogeneous ground conditions and non-adherence to geotechnical best practices, amidst a wide array of unanticipated social constructs, account for the majority of the recorded variance between the initial estimates and the project’s final account. The interplay of the emergent social constructs with the latent pathogens was further cognitively mapped out, using content analysis, to visually conceptualise the relative weightiness of the intricate complexity of the contextual dynamics, driving the unusually high level of cost overruns experienced in highway project delivery in the Niger Delta. The study concluded that the phenomenon of cost overruns in highway projects is multi-hydra headed, driven by a complexity of technical and contextual social variables, and not the simplistic explanations implied by the dichotomous arguments in the literature. It was thus recommended that tackling cost overruns in highway projects require far more than the scientific application of technical risk management tools, and should therefore, further incorporate concerted and specifically targeted efforts at curbing the intrinsic contextual triggers within, and external to highway organisations.

Poor project cost performance is one of the vital issues challenging successful construction project delivery particularly in developing countries such as Nigeria. This issue is endemic particularly in Low-cost housing (LcH) projects with adverse effects on delivery, affordability of the target beneficiaries and housing situations in Nigeria. Past studies highlight the relationship between project cost management systems (CMS) and cost performances. However, extensive studies exploring the CMS for LcH project delivery in Nigeria are rare. Apparently, no contemporary attempts are made to proffer appropriate and well-developed systematic solutions indicating possible continuing trends of poor cost management and performances in LcH project delivery. Given this discovery, this research seeks to develop a cost management system model (CMSM) for LcH project delivery in Nigeria. Empirical investigations explore the concepts of LcH project delivery, project cost management system (CMS) and implementation success factors (IMSF). The research leans towards an interpretivism perspective. It adopts a case study strategy and employs a sequential mixed method procedure for data collection and analysis at different phases of the research. A mix of focus group, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires facilitated data collection and thematic- content analysis and statistical analysis (percentages, relative agreement index, Kruskal-Wallis, and exploratory factor analysis) for data analysis. Research findings reveal that popular CMS employed by the Project Management Teams (PMT) are incapable of delivering effective LcH project cost performances following three key constraints: difficulty to effectively set target cost, plan and perform real-time project cost monitoring and control, creating rooms for variations and overruns. These limitations were traceable to inappropriate use of cost management techniques, process approach alongside 18 implementation barriers. Integrating Target costing, Earn value analysis, a cost-design-control process approach and consideration of three key IMSF namely effective team qualities, effective information and management actions and stable operational environment were identified measures to improve current CMS efficacy. The research findings were used to develop the CMSM and its operational guide employing three modelling techniques: conventional process modelling, interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and the interpretive ranking process (IRP). These modelling techniques enhanced the design and understanding of the contextual relationships between the techniques, process, and IMSF in the CMS. The IRP and ISM used in this study are novel contributions to construction research, particularly in the area of LcH project cost management. The validation of the CMSM shows its capability to facilitate improved project cost management towards effective cost performances of LcH projects. The CMSM will assist the PMT to set effectively, plan, monitor, and control costs in LcH project delivery in Nigeria.

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) have come to be preferred by governments for infrastructure development over traditional procurement. PPP is seen as the answer to many shortcomings of traditional procurement. Despite the complex nature of a PPP procurement process, governments around the world are emphasising and promoting competition within the procurement process. Competition is recognised as a significant element in the abundance of academic literature. Competition in the procurement process leads to desirable results for the procuring authority, by achieving value for money, encouraging innovation and promoting efficiency. Nevertheless, there is evidence that competition is still lacking within the PPP procurement process, so the idea of obtaining efficiency from the private sector may not be fully realised. This thesis first examines the procurement process from the global practice, and the integration of competition within the complexity of PPP. It then focuses on analysing the less known Malaysian PPP procurement process and the competition organised within its procurement process. A case study was conducted on the Malaysian Public Private Partnership Unit, Unit Kerjasama Awam Swasta (UKAS), to investigate the manner of competition incorporated within PPP in Malaysia. UKAS is the central agency responsible for facilitating and coordinating PPP implementation in Malaysia. The case study was generated from a combination of thirteen semi-structured interviews and multiple document reviews to address the research objectives. Content analysis was adopted to examine the interview transcripts and documents. Nvivo was later used to manage the coding process. Based on the empirical findings, in its effort to make the country’s PPP programme a success, UKAS has been flexible in its implementation, with less emphasis on incorporating competition within the procurement process. UKAS, however, still manages to procure infrastructure using PPP for the reasons for adopting PPP. This result in inconsistencies in UKAS governance on procurement process. Where the findings illustrate that value for money can be achieved by other means, the researcher concludes that competition involves more than achieving value for money; it can also be used as a procedural barrier, hence achieving good governance.

The occurrence and adverse complications arising from healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) have been well documented as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality by successive governments and healthcare professional bodies in the United Kingdom (UK). The significance of these challenges has led to a plethora of published regulatory guidance and continuous surveillance tools that focus on good practice. These good practice guidance documents are aimed at reducing the prevalence of both endogenous (internal) and exogenous (external) healthcare associated infections in NHS hospitals. However, there is an acknowledgment that a huge gap still exists between the implementation of knowledge accumulated over the years from the use of these good practice guidance documents and the monitoring tools adopted for benchmarking compliance with good practice in the prevention of HCAIs. With the increasing evidence of the contribution of the healthcare environment to the prevalence of HCAIs, expert opinion has affirmed that the scope for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections no longer rests only within the remit of medicines, but includes other key service providers to the healthcare sector, among which the facilities management discipline is paramount. This has led to a research need for a better understanding of the subtleties of knowledge management processes in healthcare facilities management practice. The aim of this research is to examine the issues of the knowledge management process, i.e. the creation, storing, sharing and usage of knowledge in hospital facilities management cleaning services for the control of exogenous HCAIs. This investigation was carried out within the context of hospital knowledge infrastructure capabilities, which consist of the prevailing culture, structure and technological capabilities. The research is premised on an interpretivist research philosophy and utilises a sequential explanatory mixed methodology approach. This approach consists of the synthesis and review of literature pertinent to the research subject domain, a questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews. Quantitative data was obtained from a questionnaire survey of 81 NHS hospital facilities managers in England, and was subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. Qualitative data was obtained from face-to-face interviews with 10 NHS facilities managers and subjected to thematic analysis using NVivo software. Findings across the three data collection instruments were contextualised and subjected to further rigorous statistical analysis using the Relative Importance Index (RII), also known as the “weighted models”, to ascertain the empirical importance of the variables. The findings obtained were used to develop a good practice knowledge management framework. Findings from the research showed that efficient management of compliance with good practice guidance protocols in the control of exogenous HCIAs is could be achieve through the provision of cleaning services using directly employed in-house staff. This enables a high level of collaboration between the clinician members of an infection control team and a hospital facilities manager in the control of exogenous HCAIs. The majority of the NHS hospitals surveyed use their bespoke good practice guidance documents in the delivery of hospital cleaning services. These bespoke guidance documents are a combination of key performance indicators (KPIs) drawn from prevailing statutory core guidance documents. There is evidence of a lack of appreciation and understanding of the relevance of interfacing knowledge management processes to the hospital knowledge infrastructure capabilities in the delivery of facilities management cleaning services for efficient control of exogenous HCAIs. A conceptual knowledge management framework representing the fundamental empirical interface of the knowledge management process elements within the hospital knowledge infrastructure capabilities was developed to assist in the control of exogenous HCAIs through facilities management cleaning service delivery practices in NHS hospitals. This framework was validated by facilities managers across NHS hospitals in England to ascertain its feasibility from both the analytical (scientific) and pragmatic (operational) perspectives.

Infrastructure development is considered a key facilitator for achieving economic growth in developed as well as developing world, and has a direct impact on the growth and overall development of an economy. Iraq, similar to many developing countries, has a considerable lack of infrastructure. Nevertheless, it has been found that attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can play an important role in addressing this lack. A vital step for governments to attract FDI is to create an organisational environment attractive to Multinational Corporations (MNCs). Iraq is internationally recognised as a country whose government organisations are highly corrupted and hard to do business with, a situation which has also significantly contributed to the underdevelopment of infrastructure in the country. A number of organisational performance improvement models, such as EFQM, Baldrige and PROBE, can identify and improve organisational practice and reduce performance weaknesses. However, these approaches are lengthy and their implementation can thus jeopardise any improvement due to the lack of quick wins. Given the urgency of addressing Iraq’s infrastructure needs, this research focuses on developing an approach to help Iraqi decision makers create an organisational environment attractive to MNCs in a step-change fashion. To achieve this goal, four research stages were established. The first was conducting an extensive literature review; this identified six critical steps in creating an organisational environment attractive to MNCs. The second, or exploratory, stage applied these steps, assessing Iraqi organisational practices, comparing them to world-class standards and identifying key weaknesses and strengths. The third, development, stage focused on using the findings from the exploratory stage and the literature to develop and propose an approach to creating an organisational environment attractive to MNCs. This framework was validated in the fourth stage, using case studies. The key results of this research showed that an effective and quicker approach for decision makers of Iraqi government organisations to creating an organisational environment attractive for MNCs is by establishing separate spinout organisation(s) dedicated to working exclusively with MNCs throughout the lifecycle of infrastructure development programmes. Their successful implementation will pave the way for large-scale reform for government organisations in Iraq. However, such an approach is entirely dependent on achieving top management support and commitment to change. This research contributes to knowledge by providing an alternative approach to the existing improvement methods that can help government organisations similar to the ones in Iraq, overcome their performance weaknesses and create effective organisational environment in the short term.

The project creates a new infrastructure delivery system through the design and implementation of a Strategic Change Model to facilitate change management. The project is premised on identifying barriers to effective delivery within an Infrastructure Client Organisation (ICO), and subsequently on finding a way to address those issues in the real world. Oscillating between theory, literature and action, the project concentrates on the creation of the new AMP6 Infrastructure Delivery System for UKWASC (United Utilities), a regulated monopolistic provider of water and wastewater services in the North West of England, responsible for delivering over £3 billion in infrastructure expenditure between 2015 and 2020. Beginning in 2012 and employing a Three Phase Change Approach (TPCA) towards participatory action, the project utilises participant observation, action research and participatory action research over a 3+ year period. This project has focused primarily on five interventions into UKWASC to improve Strategic Procurement Management Competence (SPMC) within the organisation. With interventions premised in the use of socio‐technical systems for the purposes of joint optimisation within the ICO, the project served to form the Strategic Change Model as a vehicle through which to intervene and to promote effective change management within the ICO (UKWASC). Focusing on the single study, the project is premised on the formation of warrantable assertions as locally created representations of knowledge. Such assertions are made for the purpose of contribution to theory, practice and the participatory focused methodologies in light of strategic procurement, change management, participatory focused research and the application of systems thinking principles in the delivery of infrastructure.

Unfortunately, in recent years Iraqi traditional architecture and urban identity have been deeply affected by three wars, which challenged the cultural memory of the local people and in particular of young generations. This research focuses on the city of Basra to investigate the material features of the Iraqi architecture and to develop guidelines to steer the maintenance of the architectural and urban identity. Thanks to its long history, Basra is rich in cultural heritage. In particular, the numerous canals are a very specific feature, gaining to the city the nickname of “Venice of the East”. However, the three big wars in Iraq -1980, 1991 and 2003- greatly affected the architectural identity of Basra. During these wars, the city was under attack from bombs and grenades every day and as a result of this, most of the heritage and architectural landmarks were lost. Following the last war, many developers carried out different projects in Basra adopting foreign and alien designs, which reflect their ideological culture, far from the city’s spirit and not respectful of the local history and identity. The reconstruction of Basra has been put forward disregarding the identity of the city and threatening the authenticity of the urban landscape and the architectural identity. This research adopted a mixed method strategy in order to identify the main features of the architectural identity in Basra city and to assess the threats to the traditional identity during the city development process. Following a survey and a set of semi-structured interviews, three neighbourhoods have been selected within the city, to offer examples of architectural typologies and urban morphologies from three different periods: Ottoman, British and contemporary. In addition to secondary data sources such as archival documents, an in-depth field study has been conducted for each of these neighbourhoods, including gathering observations from experts and local residents. Evidence from primary data collected shows that a lack of awareness among local people exists about the value of heritage and traditional architecture, especially among young people. Furthermore, there is a gap in the knowledge of what are the main features, which made the Iraqi architecture unique, as well as, there is a lack of instruments supporting local professionals and practitioners willing to preserve the local identity in architecture and urban design. Improving social awareness and understanding the traditional architecture's value of Basra is an essential route to create a cultural resilience facing the loss of the local identity. Failure to address the local knowledge also depends on a lack of documentation on the tangible heritage of the city. This raises a serious question about what needs to be done to preserve the city identity and what strategy needs to be taken into consideration for the future of the city. Based on the findings of the empirical study and the opinions of experts, a set of guidelines for preserving the future identity of Basra has been first developed and then validated through a focus group. The guidelines aim at supporting professionals, architects, planners and Iraqi's decision makers to maintaining the architectural identity. More in general, the guidelines offer a feasible example of an alternative, novel approach to steering the Iraqi architectural and urban future towards a different path, respectful of its extraordinary roots.

No description available.

The cost of change orders is a major challenge facing the Jordanian construction industry. Change orders can be defined as modifications to the contract documents through adding, modifying or deducting something in the original agreement. Change orders might be a change in the work, a change in the quality of the work or in the construction schedule, or other forms of change that affect the nature of the project. Many studies have examined the causes of change orders, and a variety of solutions have been proposed as a way of minimising their effects, yet the cost of change orders continues to increase. However, the potential of the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a tool which to minimise the cost of change orders has not been explored. In addition, there is an existing knowledge gap, in terms of current understanding of BIM across Jordanian construction industry, and key factors derive it. The literature review indicates that there has been a significant failure to use BIM in construction projects and that there is thus a considerable difference between the uptake of BIM in developed countries and what is going in Jordan. The aim of the current research is therefore to develop a model for assessing the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) by Jordanian construction organizations as a means of minimising the costs of change orders. To achieve this aim, a critical review of the literature on change orders and BIM was undertaken. This explored the causes of change orders and their impact, levels of awareness of BIM, the benefits of BIM, barriers to the adoption of BIM, and the effects of implementing BIM in terms of reducing the costs of change orders. The research took a positivist, realist, and value-free approach, and the researcher thus used mixed methods, combining semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to collect the data required. In the first stage, 17 experts participated in semi-structured interviews as a means of investigating the major causes of change orders, as well as levels of awareness of BIM and its benefits, and of factors which both restricted and drove its use in Jordan. The outcomes of the interviews provided the basis for the design of the questionnaire, and this was distributed across the Jordanian construction industry, resulting in 155 responses received. The questionnaire answers were analysed descriptively and statistically by the Severity Index, factor analysis and correlation tests. The causes of change orders in the Jordanian construction industry were further categorised into three main groups, namely client-related causes,engineering causes and causes arising from the circumstances of the project. Changes initiated by clients and design errors were found to be the major causes of change orders which are responsible for cost overruns. It was also found that there are significant shortcomings in levels of awareness and knowledge of BIM both among individuals and across the construction sector. Moreover, it was found that there are several barriers to the adoption of BIM in the Jordanian construction industry. These barriers are clustered in four main groups: financial, human, communication and project procurement. The main barriers to the use of BIM are the costs of BIM software and the cost of training. The research concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between the use of BIM and reductions in the cost of change orders in the Jordanian construction industry. This means that the costs of change orders will decrease significantly if BIM is used, and supports a case for using BIM as a means of reducing the costs of change orders in the Jordanian construction industry. Finally, House of Quality and ISM (Interpretive Structural Modelling) were used to validate this approach. In the first step of validation, House of Quality was used to investigate the relationship between the causes of change orders and the functions and features of BIM, which validated the positive effects of using BIM in terms of reducing the costs of change orders by minimizing the main causes of change orders. In the second step, the ISM model was used to build the final model of the factors which obstruct the adoption of BIM in the Jordanian construction industry. This model categorized seven levels of barriers to the adoption of BIM, with those at level seven being the main barriers. This showed that the costs of BIM software and training are the main barriers to the adoption of BIM in the Jordanian construction industry.

It is evident from research that there is a strong link between poor indoor environments, external façade of school buildings, schoolchildren’s health and academic performance. In order to provide a better indoor environment for schoolchildren, meeting strict criteria in relation to indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, aesthetics and longevity is highly important. Stringent health criteria for school buildings’ design and construction have led to innovations in selecting and manufacturing of materials that meet such criteria. However, the uses of prescriptive specification and outdated national building codes have proved to be challenging leading to the application of Performance Specification (PS). The prescriptive method, unlike the PS which permits innovation, is disruptive and cumbersome; using codes that hamper the adoption of newer and safer materials for today’s environmental challenges. This study developed a guidance document known as a PS to aid the design, selection of materials and construction of schools buildings in the Niger Delta area (NDA) where gas flaring (GF) is predominant. This excessive pollution poses the biggest challenge to indoor environments and building deterioration. School buildings in Nigeria currently follow the prescriptive specification and national building codes that were last updated in 2006. Such practices are clearly inadequate for tackling environmental challenges in the NDA. Therefore, PS, based on performance requirements and fit for purpose, is more likely to help in achieving clean indoor air and durable external façade of school buildings in the vicinity. The study adopted the design science (DS) method as the philosophical approach due to its advantages in integrating other research strategies. Literature on GF impacts and the use of PS was reviewed followed by qualitative and quantitative data collection using both open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interview. While 120 open-ended questionnaires were administered, 102 valid responses were retrieved and 10 expert professionals with more than ten years of experience in professional practice in the primary area of study were interviewed. Consequently, the data that emerged were analysed using Nvivo 11 and SPSS to identify specific environmental issues for potential mitigation. The final PS was demonstrated in three iterative processes through subsequent data collection exercise using open-ended questionnaires administered to 102 respondents to provide the required environment specific requirements for design and construction purposes. This was carried out through experienced professionals and evaluated by potential dominant users in the study area. It concludes that the developed PS will potentially change current practices in terms of design and selection of materials for school construction. The use of PS as opposed to the sole reliance on the Nigerian building code which is prescriptive in nature is deemed feasible. The research outcomes also included the development of immediate environmental criteria for limits on hazardous substances and space cooling levels for performance requirements, among others. In addition, innovative triple and double filtration systems for use as air purifiers without energy costs were designed. These locally tailored criteria provide environment specific requirements without mirroring international codes to offer clean IAQ for the research environment. It is expected that the DPS would be used by professionals in the Built environment and policy makers as a guiding tool during the design, selection and construction of buildings in the VGF and/or for (re) designing and renovation process to meet growing indoor air quality needs and achieves building durability in the NDA.