M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / As a result of its direct relations with the different sectors of the economy, the construction industry is used as a tool by governments around the world for economic recovery. The South African government has taken such a stance following the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, by proposing the government‘s infrastructure spending and expansion programme for economic growth and development. The South African economy took a stalling from 4.1% in 2007 to 2.3% in 2008 and then turning negative in 2009. This research paper seeks to gather insight of the relationship between construction output and economic growth, as well as the potential long and short term benefits of major infrastructure projects to the South African economy. South Africa; as a developing country and with its construction industry currently in the upward trend, there are lessons that can be learnt from the developed countries. To this end, trends in construction output and GDP have been scrutinised to examine any pattern of development relating the construction industry and its relationship with the economy as a whole. The examination spanned over 32 countries grouped according to their respective development status. With South Africa‘s significant increase in the annual change in construction output between 2004 and 2008, amid developments of the FIFA world cup, confirmed the relation between construction investment and economic growth. The contribution of the construction industry to GDP for developed countries all follow the same trend of having high contributions in the beginning of development declining as less and less new infrastructure is required by the country. The contribution of construction averaged at 6 per cent for the entire duration of analysis between 1970 and 2011. Compared to international standards, South Africa‘s contribution of construction to GDP is determined to be very low at 3 per cent for the duration 1963 and 2011. Further, the construction industry has displayed characteristics of instability for South Africa when compared to developed countries over the same period.

Actualmente, los proyectos de edificaciones que se vienen ejecutando generalmente no cuentan con una ingeniería definida al inicio de la etapa de construcción. Esto genera que los proyectos tengan numerosas indefiniciones en su inicio. A consecuencia de ello, las consultas, las órdenes de cambio, y definiciones se dan en mayor cantidad en la etapa de ejecución aumentando el esfuerzo y por lo tanto incrementando el plazo contractual en la solución de cualquier retrabajo. Las metodologías tradicionales, no colaborativas, suelen tener como común denominador, la gran cantidad de solicitudes de información durante la construcción. Esta situación sumada a de un flujo lento de respuesta a las consultas realizadas en campo puede resultar perjudicial para la entrega oportuna del proyecto. Esta metodología VDC se basa en “construir” dos veces, es decir construir previamente la edificación en un modelo virtual con todas las especialidades consolidadas y compatibilizadas para una vez teniendo el modelo liberado y libre de indefiniciones, se proceda con la construcción real. Esta metodología, busca la reducción de los recursos innecesarios y la disminución de la variabilidad a través del trabajo colaborativo mediante las sesiones ICE en el uso conjunto de herramientas tecnológicas (BIM) y filosofías Lean. La presente tesis demuestra que, teniendo un modelo integrado en la etapa de diseño y acompañado de un equipo colaborativo en sesiones ICE, es posible trasladar los esfuerzos de la etapa de construcción a la etapa de diseño y de esta manera reducir el tiempo de ejecución de los proyectos. / Currently, building projects being executed, generally, do not have a defined engineering at the beginning of the construction stage. This situation generates that the projects have numerous undefinitions in their beginning. As a result, consultations, change orders, and definitions are given in greater quantity in the execution stage, increasing the effort and therefore increasing the contractual term in the solution of any rework. Traditional, non-collaborative, methodologies usually have as a common denominator, the large number of requests for information during construction. This situation added to a slow response flow to field requests can end up being detrimental to the timely delivery of the project. This VDC methodology is based on “build” twice, in other words, previously build the project in a virtual model with all the specialties consolidated and compatible for, once having the model released and free of undefinitions, to proceed with the actual construction. This methodology seeks to reduce unnecessary resources and reduce variability through collaborative work through ICE sessions in the joint use of technological tools (BIM) and Lean philosophies. The present thesis demonstrates that, having an integrated model in the design stage and accompanied by a collaborative team in ICE sessions, it is possible to transfer efforts from construction to design stage in order to reduce execution time of building projects. / Tesis

En el ámbito de la construcción existe una técnica denominada Resultado Operativo, la cual la emplean las más grandes empresas constructoras del Perú. En este trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo dar a conocer las prestaciones de la técnica del Resultado Operativo, que resulta muy útil para la planificación y control de proyectos, en nuestro caso, el edificio de oficinas T-Tower con certificación LEED GOLD. Se ha reconocido a nivel global los estándares de Dirección de Proyectos, en particular los que contienen la Guía del PMBOK â 5ta Edición, siendo la técnica del Valor Ganado (EV) de mucha utilidad para planificar, hacer seguimiento y Control, tanto del alcance, cronograma y costo. En este trabajo de investigación se analizó la técnica del Resultado Operativo (en adelante R.O.) para demostrar que cubre la técnica del Valor Ganado y adicionalmente los procesos de planificación, seguimiento y control integral tanto del costo como de los ingresos con el objetivo que el Director del Proyecto pueda tomar decisiones para lograr el margen operativo previsto. Los autores proponen una nueva curva de Valor Ganado de la Calidad que la identificaremos en adelante como EVq, la cual nos sirve para medir el grado de la gestión de la calidad que se realizan en el proyecto. Con esta nueva técnica que proponemos, evidenciamos que no es suficiente la curva de Valor Ganado (EV) para gestionar de forma integral el proyecto. / In the field of construction there is a technique called Operational Result, which is used by the largest construction companies in Peru. In this research work, the objective is to show the performance of the Operational Result technique, which is very useful for project planning and control, in our case, the T-Tower office building with LEED GOLD certification. The Project Management standards have been recognized globally, particularly those that contain the PMBOK 5th Edition Guide, being the technique of Earned Value (EV) very useful for planning, monitoring and control, both of scope, schedule and cost. In this research work the technique of the Operating Result (hereinafter RO) was analyzed to demonstrate that it covers the technique of the Earned Value and additionally the processes of planning, monitoring and integral control of both the cost and the income with the objective that the Director Project may make decisions to achieve the expected operating margin. The authors propose a new curve of Earned Value of Quality that we will identify hereinafter as EVq, which serves to measure the degree of quality management carried out in the project. With this new technique that we propose, we show that the Earned Value (EV) curve is not enough to manage the project in an integral way. / Trabajo de investigación

El éxito en el desempeño de los proyectos de construcción depende de múltiples factores internos y externos y, precisamente, uno de estos principales factores se consigue a través de una adecuada gestión en la planificación de las actividades, la cual tiene como principales objetivos reducir pérdidas, sobre costos y plazos de cronograma. Debido a esto, la industria se encuentra en una constante búsqueda de modelos de gestión que permitan alcanzar dichos objetivos. Es precisamente, el modelo Agile Scrum, concebido en la ingeniería de software, el que surge como una alternativa a la gestión de proyectos tradicionales brindando una mejora exponencial en la comunicación del equipo de proyecto y potenciando la planificación de las actividades con la implementación de un marco iterativo de trabajo que permita la flexibilidad en los cambios de requerimientos, reducción de incertidumbre y confiabilidad en lo planificado. Por ello, surge la necesidad de aplicar y adaptar este modelo dentro del sector construcción con el objetivo de reducir las solicitudes de información (RFI) y No Conformidades en calidad y así contribuir a la mejora en el desempeño del proyecto. / The success of performing in construction projects depends on plenty of internal and external factors. One of them, undoubtedly, is an accurate planning of daily activities, which main objective is the reduction of over costs, time schedule and reworks. As a result, the Construction industry is now on constant search for new project management models which allow the achievement of these objectives. It is precisely, the agile SCRUM model, developed in the software industry, in which arise as an alternative of the traditional project management models. which providing an exponential improvement in communication, increasing reliability of planned activities with the incorporation of iterative framework which provides flexibility in requirement changes and reduction of uncertainty. Therefore, it is necessary the implementation and adapting of this model inside the construction industry with the objective of a reduction of requests for information (RFI) and nonconformities in quality in order to improve the performance of the construction projects. / Trabajo de investigación

Detta examensarbete har utförts i samarbete med företaget Erfator Projektledning AB och syftar till att belysa och undersöka hur erfarenhetsåterföringen mellan olika aktörer fungerar inom byggbranschen idag. Arbetet bygger främst på ett dussintal kvalitativa intervjuer och faktainsamling som har inhämtats via facklitteratur i form av böcker och från internet. Respondenterna har representerat sju olika arbetsroller för att författarna ska få en god informationsgrund. Arbetet har visat att många företag har tydliga och fungerande system för den interna erfarenhetsåterföringen. Men att den externa erfarenhetsåterföringen är bristfällig och det är något som saknas av de flesta aktörerna inom byggbranschen. Att belysa hur erfarenhetsåterföringen fungerar idag har varit i förgrunden och lösningar till problemet har legat i bakgrunden av arbetet med denna rapport.  Som avslutning i rapporten har författarna rekommenderat olika förslag på hur man skulle kunna arbeta för en förbättring på problemet. / The degree project report has been carried out in cooperation with the company Erfator and aims to highlight and examine how the experience feedback between the different actors working in the construction industry looks today. The degree project is mainly based on dozen qualitative interviews. Other facts have been obtained through the literature in the form of books and from the Internet. To get a good information base the respondents represented six different job roles. The studies have showed that many companies have clear and effective system of internal experience feedback. But the external experience feedback is deficient and is lacking from a lot of actors in the construction industry. To illustrate how the experience feedback work today has been the main focus of the report. In conclusion, the report authors recommended a number of different suggestions how to work for the improvement of the problem.

Project management is today a current and highly discussed area. How projects within the construction industry are managed has not changed significantly during the last decades. The construction market, the amount of different actors and the way that projects are procured today has however changed. This has led to a gap between the managerial view on how construction projects should be conducted today and how they actually are executed. This is reason enough to question this conservative industry and look into what possibilities there might be in the future.   The Agile project management approach is evolved from the software industry where it has grown and developed through empirical progress. It is suited for large complex projects where it is difficult to specify the product in advance. It is today used in different industries but mostly in the software business where the customer detects their needs through means of repeated tests and improvements to a prototype.   This thesis has researched what opportunities there might be in implementing the Agile project management approach in the design phase of construction projects.   The major advantages found with implementing the Agile approach is an increase in the client’s involvement. The Agile approach almost forces the client to increase their participation in the project compared to the situation today. It can also decrease the uncertainty and improve risk management. By the use of time management and specific meetings it will also be beneficial for keeping track of the project’s progression and status. / Projektledning är idag ett högaktuellt ämne diskuteras intensivt. Hur projekt inom byggbranschen styrs och leds har inte förändrats nämnvärt under de senaste decennierna. Byggmarknaden, mängden av olika aktörer och hur att projekten upphandlas dag har dock förändrats. Detta har lett till ett spricka mellan ledarskapssynen på hur byggprojekt skall utföras idag och hur de faktiskt genomförs. Detta är skäl nog att ifrågasätta denna konservativa bransch och titta närmre på vilka möjligheter det kan finnas i framtiden.   Den Agila projektledningsmetoden har utvecklats inom mjukvarubranschen där den har vuxit och förbättrats genom empiriska framsteg. Den är lämpad för stora komplexa projekt där det är svårt att ange och definiera produkten i förväg. Den används idag i olika branscher, men främst i mjukvaruindustrin där kunden upptäcker sina behov med hjälp av upprepade tester och förbättringar av en prototyp.    Denna avhandling har undersökt vilka möjligheter det kan finnas i att använda Agila projektledningsmetoder under projekteringsfasen i byggprojekt.   De största fördelarna som finns med att använda den Agila metoden är en ökning av kundens engagemang och involvering i projekten. Den Agila metoden tvingar nästan kunden att öka deras deltagande i projektet jämfört med hur situationen ser ut idag. Det kan också leda till minskad osäkerhet och förbättrad riskhantering. Genom användning av ”time management” och särskilda möten kommer de Agila metoderna också att vara till nytta för att hålla reda på projektets framåtskridande och status.

Projects within the construction sector is characterized as fragmented, temporary and complex which inherently brings upon risk exposure. Decision makers within the industry need reliant access to information and knowledge in order to manage risks in a sufficient and systematic way. Thus, the implementation of an effective risk management in relation to managing associated project risk knowledge may facilitate successful construction project endeavors.  The purpose of this master thesis is to explore and evaluate project risk management within the Swedish construction industry, with the emphasis on the perspective of Swedish contractors. The aim is to examine the recognition and practical adoption of risk management in order to investigate how project knowledge is utilized in the process. The methodology consists of a literature review on risk management fundamentals, the diverse risk attitudes and knowledge management in relation to risk. Data collection and analysis are based on a mixed method approach in which conclusions are made in relation to theoretical groundwork. The empirical data is collected through the usage of an online survey and in-depth semi structured interviews with key professionals within the Swedish construction industry. The results from this research indicate that theoretical models and processes for risk management is fairly unknown within the industry, analogous methods are used within respective organizations but the sharing of definitions and concepts within the industry are absent and the methods are not as structured as described in risk management theory. However, findings suggest that the perception of actors within the industry regarding risk and the risk management process is one of high importance for obtaining project objectives. Furthermore, findings indicate that the interplay between knowledge- and risk management and the incorporation of these processes is underutilized among the contractors and developers. / Projekt inom byggsektorn karakteriseras ofta som fragmenterade, tillfälliga samt komplexa vilket i sin tur medför riskexponering. Beslutsfattare inom byggbranschen behöver tillförlitlig tillgång till information och kunskap för att kunna hantera risker på ett effektivt och systematisk sätt. Implementering av en produktiv riskhantering i samband med hanteringen av associerad projektriskkännedom och kunskap kan således underlätta framgångsrika byggprojektinsatser. Syftet med denna masteruppsats är att utforska och utvärdera projektriskhantering inom den svenska byggbranschen, med tonvikt på svenska byggentreprenörers perspektiv. Syftemålet är att undersöka erkännandet och det praktiska utförandet av riskhantering och på så vis undersöka hur projektkunskap utnyttjas i processen.   Metoden består av en litteraturöversikt gällande riskhantering, diverse riskattityder och uppfattningar samt kunskapshantering i förhållande till risk. Datainsamling och analys baseras på en ”mixed-method research” där slutsatser görs i förhållande till teoretiskt grundarbete. Den empiriska insamlingen gjordes genom tillämpning av en online-undersökning samt djupgående semi-strukturerade intervjuer med professionella inom den svenska byggbranschen.  Resultaten från denna forskning visar på att teoretiska modeller samt processer inom riskhantering är relativt okända inom branschen. I praktiken används likartade metoder inom respektive organisation men definitioner och begrepp skiljer sig sinsemellan, metoderna är dessutom inte lika strukturerade i jämförelse med riskhanteringsteorier inom litteraturen. Fynden i denna studie tyder dock på att uppfattningen kring risk och riskhanteringsprocessen, bland aktörer inom branschen, är att den är av stor betydelse för att uppnå projektmål. Vidare tyder resultaten på att samspelet mellan kunskap- och riskhantering samt dess inkorporering är underutnyttjat bland byggentreprenörer och byggherrar.

The construction industry often operates with important and expensive projects that should meet deadlines and various regulations and at the same time avoid risks associated with the phases of the construction projects. This thesis reviews risks by a project life cycle (PLC) and the risk management used in construction projects by interviewing different construction project stakeholders such as hotel owners in Belgium and construction specialists. Hence, this study aims to find what the different risks are in the different phases of the construction projects life cycles and how risks are managed in these construction projects. The project life cycle framework developed especially for construction projects and used in this study consists of the conceptualization phase, the planning and design phase, the contractor selection phase, the contractor mobilization phase, the operational phase, and finally the project closeout and termination phase. The results of this study indicate that there are many risks existing in the construction projects that were part of this study. During the planning phase of construction projects, some of the identified risks were communication-related risks, design risks, estimation risks, budgeting risks, financial risks, site conditions and unknown geological condition risks, socio-political risks, government relation risks, and economic risks. During the contractor selection phase, the main risks that were identified were owners appointing the wrong contractor responsible for the construction of the building. During the operational phase of the PLC, some of the risks existing were communication-related risks, risks of late deliveries of materials, risks of a shortage of materials, risks of poor quality of workmanship, cost related risks, site safety risks, risks of disagreements in the teams, delays risks, risks of unavailability of funds and financial failure, risks of inadequate managerial skills, risks of improper coordination between teams, risks of insufficiently skilled staff or subcontractors, weather, and seasonal implications risks, site conditions and unknown geological condition risks, theft risks, subcontractors don’t deliver materials in time and subcontractors bankruptcy. During the project closeout and termination phase, some of the risks were cost related risks, risks that the project end is delayed, quality concerns risks, and risks of scope and design changes. Further, this study shows that the owner/client of construction projects tend to mitigate different risks of the construction projects by transferring these risks to outside parties such as the contractors. Another finding from this study is that non-computerized risk management tools were preferred instead of tools that use computerised software. Examples of such non-computerized tools were risk matrices, brainstorming, use of past experiences of construction projects, expert interviews, divide and conquer method, and own judgement.

In Nigeria, 50% to 70% of construction projects are delayed due to unexpected events that are linked to lapses in performance, near misses, and surprises. While researchers have theorized on the impact of mindfulness and information systems management (ISM) on unexpected events, information is lacking on how project teams can combine ISM and mindfulness in response to unexpected events in construction projects. The purpose of this case study was to examine how project teams can combine mindfulness with ISM in response to unexpected events during the execution phase of Nigerian construction projects. The framework of High Reliability Theory revealed that unexpected events could be minimized by mindfulness defined by 5 cognitive processes: preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise. In-depth semi-structured interviews elicited the views of 24 project experts on team behaviors, tactics, and processes for combining mindfulness with ISM. Data analysis was conducted by open coding to identify and reduce data into themes, and axial coding was used to identify and isolate categories. Findings were that project teams could combine mindfulness with ISM in response to unexpected events by integrating effective risk, team, and communication management with appropriate training and technology infrastructure. If policymakers, project clients, and practitioners adopt practices suggested in this study, the implications for social change are that project management practices, organizational learning, and the performance of construction projects may improve, construction wastes may be reduced, and taxpayers may derive optimum benefits from public funds committed to construction projects.

Thesis (MScEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The logical scheduling of activities in an engineering project currently relies heavily on the experience and intuition of the persons responsible for the schedule. In large projects the complexity of the schedule far exceeds the capacity of human intuition, and systematic techniques are required to compute a consistent sequence of activities. In this study a simple model of the engineering process is described. Based on certain specified relationships between components of the model, a consistent sequence of activities is determined in the form of a logical step schedule. The problem of resource constraints receives special attention. Engineering projects are often executed with limited resources and determining the impact of such restrictions on the logical step schedule is important. This study investigates activityshifting strategies to find a near-optimal sequence of activities that guarantees consistent evolution of deliverables while resolving resource conflicts within the context of logical step schedules. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die logiese skedulering van aktiwiteite in ‘n ingenieursprojek steun swaar op die ondervinding en intuisie van die persone wat verantwoordelik is vir die skedule. In groot projekte is die kompleksiteit van die skedule veel hoër as die kapasiteit van die menslike intuisie, en sistematiese tegnieke word benodig om ‘n konsekwente volgorde van aktiwiteite te bereken. In hierdie studie word ‘n eenvoudige model van die ingenieursproses beskryf. Gebasseer op sommige relasies tussen komponente van die model, kan ‘n konsekwente volgorde van aktiwiteite bepaal word in die vorm van ‘n logiese stap-skedule. Die probleem van beperkte hulpbronne ontvang spesiale aandag. Ingenieursprojekte word dikwels uitgevoer met beperkte hulpbronne en dit is belangrik om die impak daarvan op die logiese stap-skedule te bepaal. Die studie ondersoek die gebruik van aktiwiteit-skuiwende strategieë om ‘n nabyoptimale volgorde van aktiwiteite te vind wat konsekwente ontwikkeling van die projekprodukte waarborg, terwyl hulpbron konflikte opgelos word binne die konteks van ‘n logiese stap-skedule.