No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study examined how and why practitioners in the modern construction industry sought information as part of their everyday work activities. A grounded theory methodology was utilized to identify the main problem and how it was resolved by the participants. The main problem was determined to be the ability to seek accurate information efficiently and effectively. A theory termed wayfinding was developed and described through interviews with 24 current constructors.These constructors were theoretically sampled from many segments of the construction industry, including construction management, general contracting, and subcontracting. Both genders and a variety of positions were sampled, and the constructors' work experience ranged from a few months to several decades. Relevant literature was incorporated from pertinent fields including urban planning, which developed the term wayfinding; architecture and interior design; and computer science. The current construction industry and its information-seeking process were detailed, including the overriding issue of time and its impact on construction.The research indicated that there were three main categories of the theory: reasons for wayfinding, wayfinding tools and methods, and types of wayfinders. wayfinding was employed by constructors for five reasons: to clarify, confirm, source, prepare, and manage risk. Clarifying, sourcing, and preparing were all found to be common reasons for information-seeking, with confirming and managing risk less frequently encountered. The tools and methods used included print sources, Internet resources, networking, branching/filtering, and cost-saving. Networking was the preferred technique, with branching/filtering and cost-saving being employed only by experienced constructors. Familiarity with the process differentiated the novice from the experienced constructor and was not solely based on the number of years' work experience. Novice constructors used physical proximity as a criterion when selecting a source of information, and selected methods purposively to avoid embarrassment.Implications of wayfinding for the practitioner and construction organization were presented. Implications in other fields were discussed for education, architecture and interior design, and technology. Problems with wayfinding included the inherent inefficiency of the design/construction system and a lack of training. Potential changes were also introduced, including technology and contractual relationships. Recommendations were made for current constructors, including novices and experienced practitioners. / Department of Educational Studies

The quality of any finished project in the construction industry relies mainly on the specifications written for that project. The specifications are benchmarks for the quality of the project, which should be referred to during all phases of the project. Successful specifications are normally associated with accuracy, clarity, coverage of all clauses, precession and the effectiveness of the description of the materials and methods of fixing. On the other hand, poor specifications often result in delays in handing-over, escalation of prices due to variations, disputes, high penalties, loss of trust and compromise in the quality of the finished project. The construction industry in Bahrain often suffers from poor specifications. In order to determine the severity of the problem, a questionnaire survey was undertaken to analysis the present standard of specifications used in the construction industry in Bahrain. The outcomes of the survey revealed major setbacks in the standard of the existing specifications such as inappropriate repetition, excessive conflict, unclear and uncompleted clauses with little precession. The majority of respondents called for a change in the situation. Improvement of quality has become a major challenge faced by the construction industry and can involve, reducing cost solving problems of rework, reducing maintenance cost and improving the life cycle value of the buildings. Total Quality Management has become one of the best solutions to overcome the problems, and specification could be used as a gate to introducing TQM to the construction industry. Specifications are approach to setting the standard of quality for any construction project, and used as a tool to get design and construction teams committed to the projects quality standards through all stages of the construction process. The overall afin of Us thesis is to develop a framework for implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) in the construction industry in Bahrain, by developing a dynamic specifications model which will help to improve performance in the construction industry, improve consultant-client- constructor- supplier chain relation, control the budget of the project and reduce disputes, claims and variations in the construction industry.

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific one-time task. For example, constructing a building or implementing a new computer system, all need to be well-managed. Projects are conceived and completed by people, who are involved in the whole process of project execution and completion. Thus, project management not only requires an efficient project manager, but also a qualified leader who can lead the team effectively. This research will provide a clearer understanding of the concept of leadership in projects, discussing how and why it works, and the ways to make project teams more dynamic and effective. The results from the study are applied to these leadership concepts, in an effort understand the role of effective leadership in reducing costs across the whole project process and increasing the project value.

The construction industry is one of the largest industries in the United States and has major influence on the nation's economy. While there is information about industry-wide labor productivity, there has been very little specifically aimed at analyzing the key macroeconomic factors such as labor productivity and gross margin of the construction industry as a whole and at fourteen of its sub-sectors. To address these shortcomings, the objectives of this research are threefold: (1) quantify the macroeconomic performance of the industry as a whole and at fourteen of its sub-sectors in terms of labor productivity, gross margin, and labor wages, (2) investigate the relationship among the three key parameters over the study period from 1992 to 2007, and (3) develop a quantifying model that predicts the level of a firms' profit as a function of such parameters. In addition, the paper seeks to further examine the interdependence between gross margin and labor productivity and wages by looking at the construction industry as a whole. First, data were collected from the 1997, 2002, and 2007 U.S. Economic Census reports generated by the U.S. Census Bureau. This raw data had discrepancies because of some missing values in data fields. This problem was then resolved by performing a bi-variate linear regression. Second, a one-way ANOVA and a general linear regression analysis was performed to investigate whether there was a statistically significant relationship among gross margin, labor productivity, and labor wages per construction worker. Third, a quantifying model was developed to predict the value of gross margin as a function of key parameters. Lastly, the proposed model was then validated with actual values of gross margin observed in three states, California, Florida, and Texas. The results of this research clearly indicate that there was no statistically significant relationship between labor productivity and labor wages per construction worker. In addition, it was seen that there was no significant relationship between labor wages and gross margin per construction worker. However, this study proved that there was a statistically significant relationship between labor productivity and gross margin per construction worker, which suggests the importance of labor productivity. The validation study proved the reliability of the proposed model in predicting the value of gross margin, with little deviation. This study concludes that sub-sectors experiencing higher labor productivity resulted in more profits as represented by the level of gross margin. This finding conveys the important fact that as labor productivity improves, firm's profits also increase significantly. It is noticeable to find that the construction industry as a whole had experienced a steady increase in its labor productivity and gross margin over the study period.

Thesis (MProjectManagement)--University of South Australia, 2004.