The purpose of this study was to investigate the capital project financing methods of Texas community college districts, including an analysis of successful general obligation bond elections. A two-phase research approach was used in this analysis. The first part of the research investigation surveyed 65 community college executives and administrators representing 50 community college districts in Texas. College leaders were asked to participate in an online survey regarding finance methods used to fund capital projects. This included leaders who have participated in general obligation bond referendums on their college campuses. Thirty-four out of 65 leaders responded to the survey, which resulted in a 52.3% response rate. The second part of the investigation disaggregated survey response information from district college leaders into two groups: Those who finance capital projects utilizing general obligation bonds (GO bond) and those who use other methods than general obligation bonds to fund capital improvements or renovations. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the second phase, which investigated 12 community college district leaders’ processes and strategies of passing general obligation bond elections from 1998 to 2008. As a follow-up to the survey instrument, 11 interviews were conducted from GO and non-GO bond community college districts. The results from the findings led to the following conclusions. Each community college district is unique in how capital projects are funded. The commonalities that existed among survey participants and the personal interviews conducted were establishing strong community relationships prior to the planning of bond campaigns. The data reinforced the basic premise of building key relationships with civic/business leaders early on in the process. The importance of creating an environment that focuses on open communication and trust in support of the college was a determining factor for winning bond elections. The recommendations that emerged from this study were community college leaders must begin a dialogue to share best practices in capital project funding. Secondly, community college leaders must advocate for an organized system of data collection to record general obligation bond elections from their state agencies. Lastly, an organization for capital project advocacy must be created. / text

Information integration is considered a source of competitive advantage in the capital projects industry. While it has been broadly implemented, many organizations appear to have achieved only limited benefits from their efforts. This dissertation investigates the complementarity relationship between information technology (IT) use and project execution processes and practices. It asserts that rather than directly improving an organization’s competitive advantage, IT serves instead as a mode to improve existing processes and practices which in turn serve to improve the bottom line. Building from this foundation, the dissertation proceeds to expand its findings to document mechanisms by which various resources influence the complementarity relationship. Topics within this dissertation are investigated with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using capital projects data, evidence of complementarity is established quantitatively between general use of IT and best practices. The benefits of complementarity in terms of cost, schedule, and rework project performance measures are documented. Data analyses show that more use of IT is associated with more use of best practice; and, projects that intensively implement IT and best practice tend to show superior project performance. Furthermore, by investigating the use of a specific technology, this dissertation presents a thorough statistical analysis showing that IT use affects the use of practices, which together support improved project performance. Next, this dissertation lists organization resources that may affect complementarity. Using sixteen actual information integration cases, the major resources consistently affecting complementarity are identified. Illustrations of seven case studies present how the resources are managed. The case studies are also used when discussing the interaction of IT use and processes generating complementarity. The primary contribution of this research is to provide a quantitative evidence of IT’s indirect impact on construction project performance via practices. A broad discussion citing the range of resources affecting the complementarity and identifying the major ones in the capital projects industry is another contribution of this research. / text

This thesis reports an exploratory, quantitative study into the implementation of strategic decisions. Implementation was viewed as a discontinuous organisational activity involving strategic change. The organisational vehicle of change is seen as "the project" and the specific unit of analysis adopted is the capital investment project. Manufacturing organisations were studied because these were shown to most frequently undertake such projects. Adopting a theoretical perspective derived from systems theory and cybernetics a model of implementation was developed which recognises two dimensions of implementation success (modes of organisational change) to be contingent upon a dimension of project uncertainty and two dimensions of information. From this model ten hypotheses were developed. Data on 45 projects was collected from a diversity of manufacturing companies. This was obtained using a structured questionnaire instrument administered to a single informant during a retrospective personal interview. Initially the data was analysed using principal components factor analysis to determine the factorial compositions and reliabilities of scales measuring theoretical constructs. Subsequently, causal modelling and stepwise regression techniques were employed to test the hypotheses. Analysis demonstrated that the essentially structural approach to implementation taken in the study adequately explained many of the observed associations between constructs. Hypothesised associations between organisational structure and implementation success could not, generally, be supported. Finally, the theoretical model adopted was not able to account for a number of empirically observed associations. These associations were explicable in terms of a behavioural or social dimension. The wider implications of the study are also discussed.

This thesis reports an exploratory, quantitative study into the implementation of strategic. decisions. Implementation was viewed as a discontinuous organisational activity involving strategic change. The organisational vehicle of change is seen as "the project" and the specific unit of analysis adopted is the capital investment project. Manufacturing organisations were studied because these were shown to most frequently undertake such projects. ' Adopting a theoretical perspective derived from systems theory and cybernetics a model of implementation was developed which recognises two dimensions of implementation success (modes of organisational change) to be contingent upon a dimension of project uncertainty and two dimensions of information. From this model ten hypotheses were developed. Data on 45 projects was collected from a diversity of manufacturing companies. This was obtained using a structured questionnaire instrument administered to a single informant during a retrospective personal interview. Initially the data was analysed using principal components factor analysis to determine the factorial compositions and reliabilities of scales measuring theoretical constructs. Subsequently, causal modelling and stepwise regression techniques were employed to test the hypotheses. Analysis demonstrated that the essentially structural approach to implementation taken in the study adequately explained many of the observed associations between constructs. Hypothesised associations between organisational structure and implementation success could not, generally, be supported. Finally, the theoretical model adopted was not able to account for a number of empirically observed associations. These associations were explicable in terms of a behavioural or social dimension. The wider implications of the study are also discussed. / Economic and Social Research Council

<p>This research study focuses on the way the Namibian public sector plans and implements capital projects, mainly in the Ohangwena region, and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in general. The research results show that the planning and project process is not clear and that options need to be considered for the improvement thereof. It is observed that often some of the identified and approved capital projects are not implemented and, if implemented, this is typically done in two or three years. Most parts of Ohangwena are comprised of sandy roads, especially the north-eastern area of Ohangwena which represents a large part of the region. Distances between health facilities and the scarcity of transport make it difficult for the community to easily reach the nearest health facility. The primary objective of this study is to perform an assessment of the planning process in the public sector for the implementation of capital projects and its effectiveness with regard to the planning and implementation of identified capital projects. From the outset, the critical issue is not only implementation, but also how the Ministry plans its capital projects for successful implementation. Interestingly, no research has been done before on this topic in Namibia. Against this background, officials (planners) that are directly involved in capital projects design were interviewed at the district, regional and national levels of the Ministry. The research investigation found that, in general, the planning and project processes in the Ministry are good, but a number of weaknesses were observed in the implementation process. The findings of the study showed that capacity in the Ministry, in terms of skills and technical expertise, are among the main causes of delay in the implementation of capital projects, particularly in the region and in the Ministry in general. The research found that lack of technical expertise in the Ministry and the limited capacity of those responsible for capital projects initiation and implementation, especially at the District and Regional level, have a substantial influence on most of all the weaknesses observed in the system. In this regard, specific recommendations were made regarding the prioritization of the necessary posts and building capacity at the operational level</p>

Procurement’s role in engineering and construction is changing. Procurement is evolving into a far more strategic discipline. Major equipment procurement in particular ties up a large proportion of construction cost, has long lead time, and is usually associated with the acquisition of complex or specialized technology. Selection of suppliers is a complex process which requires the evaluation of several suppliers and project targets. This analysis is usually performed manually, it is time consuming, and certain tradeoffs may be overlooked. This research advances state of the art to aid the commercial evaluation and selection of engineered equipment suppliers in the early stages of capital projects. A decision support system was developed in cooperation with several leading engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) and owner firms within industrial construction. The system integrates firms’ market and supplier performance data with a decision aid method to support rapid tradeoff analysis and evaluation of sourcing alternatives in the early stages of capital projects. The tool has been developed in Visual C#, in the form of simple and intuitive forms, with Microsoft Access as the back-end database. A supplier selection module uses the Aspiration Interactive Method (AIM) for providing rapid tradeoff analysis and points how each supplier is ranked in relation to the expected procurement targets. The system also includes a module for schedule analysis of the preferred supplier. Managers first need to assess unique project and supplier’s characteristics to estimate most likely durations. These durations are used to run a PERT analysis and provide initial feedback on probability of equipment delivery success. Therefore, managers are able to check whether their procurement master schedule milestones are feasible or not. Two actual selection cases were used to validate system’s usefulness, completeness, and deployability. According to experienced managers, this tool brings intelligence to the traditional selection process. The ability to quickly generate what-if scenarios and rapidly perform tradeoff analysis based on real data improves the quality of decision making, and supports commercial assessment and recommendation of suppliers in the early phases of capital projects. / text

<p>This research study focuses on the way the Namibian public sector plans and implements capital projects, mainly in the Ohangwena region, and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in general. The research results show that the planning and project process is not clear and that options need to be considered for the improvement thereof. It is observed that often some of the identified and approved capital projects are not implemented and, if implemented, this is typically done in two or three years. Most parts of Ohangwena are comprised of sandy roads, especially the north-eastern area of Ohangwena which represents a large part of the region. Distances between health facilities and the scarcity of transport make it difficult for the community to easily reach the nearest health facility. The primary objective of this study is to perform an assessment of the planning process in the public sector for the implementation of capital projects and its effectiveness with regard to the planning and implementation of identified capital projects. From the outset, the critical issue is not only implementation, but also how the Ministry plans its capital projects for successful implementation. Interestingly, no research has been done before on this topic in Namibia. Against this background, officials (planners) that are directly involved in capital projects design were interviewed at the district, regional and national levels of the Ministry. The research investigation found that, in general, the planning and project processes in the Ministry are good, but a number of weaknesses were observed in the implementation process. The findings of the study showed that capacity in the Ministry, in terms of skills and technical expertise, are among the main causes of delay in the implementation of capital projects, particularly in the region and in the Ministry in general. The research found that lack of technical expertise in the Ministry and the limited capacity of those responsible for capital projects initiation and implementation, especially at the District and Regional level, have a substantial influence on most of all the weaknesses observed in the system. In this regard, specific recommendations were made regarding the prioritization of the necessary posts and building capacity at the operational level</p>

In recent years, Interface Management (IM) practices have been emerging to address the challenges of managing complex capital projects. These challenges include the added complexity and scale of these projects, globalization, geographical distribution and various working cultures, and different internal and external risks. Oil sands, off-shore and nuclear are examples of this class of projects. Despite an emerging consensus on the effectiveness of IM for facilitating complex projects delivery, IM definitions, elements, and the way it has been implemented varies widely across the construction industry. Furthermore, identifying key interface points, integrating IM with the project schedule, and the relationship between IM implementation and project performance are significant questions that owners and contractors wish to have addressed. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis are to develop a workflow driven process for IM, study its current status in the industry, develop an algorithm to identify key interface points and integrate IM with project schedule, and investigate the relationship between IM implementation and project performance. This research is mostly focused on industrial construction, though some data from other sectors is included. In this thesis, the elements and fundamental definitions of Interface Management are proposed. Then, a workflow driven Interface Management System (IMS) is developed, which lays out a strategy to systematically identify and manage stakeholders’ interfaces with the objective of more effective risk management in capital projects. Once the IMS ontology is defined, the current state of IM in the construction industry is studied through data collection on 46 projects by conducting questionnaire based interviews. The interviewed projects are from different sectors of the industry, with various sizes and geographical locations. This study aims at identifying the project characteristics that lead to formal IM implementation in a project, current common IM practices in the industry, and criteria to assess the status and effectiveness of IM. Furthermore, the relationship between IM implementation and project performance in terms of cost and schedule growth is investigated by employing descriptive and statistical analysis tools. One observation was that those projects that implemented IM at a high level experienced lower cost growth and less variation in the cost growth. This thesis also proposes a methodology to identify key interface points by recognizing the interdependency relationships between them and creating the Interface Points Network. By analyzing the network, two types of high impact and risk prone interface points are identified. Once the key interface points are recognized, they are linked to the interface milestones on the project schedule, to integrate the cyclic information of IMS with the conventional, sequential planning, scheduling and control paradigms (e.g. CPM). The proposed algorithms are validated on a representative offshore model project. In summary, the proposed algorithms in this thesis provide a framework to improve project performance through better alignment between stakeholders, enforcement of contract terms, and effective sharing and distribution of risk-related information within formalized interface management framework. The empirical analysis also sets a foundation for construction organizations to assess their IM with regard to the current practices in the industry and a roadmap to improve their IM practices to more mature levels.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This research study focuses on the way the Namibian public sector plans and implements capital projects, mainly in the Ohangwena region, and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in general. The research results show that the planning and project process is not clear and that options need to be considered for the improvement thereof. It is observed that often some of the identified and approved capital projects are not implemented and, if implemented, this is typically done in two or three years. Most parts of Ohangwena are comprised of sandy roads, especially the north-eastern area of Ohangwena which represents a large part of the region. Distances between health facilities and the scarcity of transport make it difficult for the community to easily reach the nearest health facility. The primary objective of this study is to perform an assessment of the planning process in the public sector for the implementation of capital projects and its effectiveness with regard to the planning and implementation of identified capital projects. From the outset, the critical issue is not only implementation, but also how the Ministry plans its capital projects for successful implementation. Interestingly, no research has been done before on this topic in Namibia. Against this background, officials (planners) that are directly involved in capital projects design were interviewed at the district, regional and national levels of the Ministry. The research investigation found that, in general, the planning and project processes in the Ministry are good, but a number of weaknesses were observed in the implementation process. The findings of the study showed that capacity in the Ministry, in terms of skills and technical expertise, are among the main causes of delay in the implementation of capital projects, particularly in the region and in the Ministry in general. The research found that lack of technical expertise in the Ministry and the limited capacity of those responsible for capital projects initiation and implementation, especially at the District and Regional level, have a substantial influence on most of all the weaknesses observed in the system. In this regard, specific recommendations were made regarding the prioritization of the necessary posts and building capacity at the operational level. / South Africa

The proposition of this dissertation is that superior capital budgeting solutions can be attained by not only analyzing projects individually but rather as part of a portfolio of projects that has the objective of maximizing the company’s range of multiple objectives, not only the economic benefit. The dissertation starts with a detailed study of current techniques and an assessment of flaws and shortcomings. This study concludes with the requirements that any new approach or model must address in order to improve on the current practices. Based on these requirements, a new model is developed based on the portfolio approach that integrates all the assumptions, constraints, project and variable interrelationships. An important feature of the model is that it selects its portfolio of capital projects in such a way that it optimizes support for the company’s multiple objectives, not only the economic objective. The dissertation concludes with the application of this model to a hypothetical case. It is concluded that, by developing and using this model, a company can improve the analysis required before capital budgets are finalized. / Dissertation (MEng (Industrial Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / unrestricted