Construction Management & Economics

Abdul‐Aziz, Abdul‐Rashid; Jaafar, Mastura; Hussin, Abdul Aziz

doi: 10.1080/01446190701598640pmid: N/A

Despite privatization, many government‐linked companies (GLCs) still continue to operate in Malaysia. Many have objectives that include the redressing of ethnic economic imbalance. Government‐linked construction companies (GLCCs) were created within these larger public groups. A study was conducted to explore whether the GLCCs are still valid in Malaysia's present construction industry scenario, and if not, what actions should be taken in respect of them. Four aspects (i.e. social obligation, competitiveness, efficiency and income generation) were looked into. To answer the research questions, the viewpoints of ‘A’ Class bumiputera contractors were solicited which were then investigated on four GLCCs, three belonging to state economic development corporations (SEDCs) and one to a land development agency (LDA). The exploratory study found that three case study GLCCs have limited public value. This paper concludes by recommending changes that should be made to them. There is much that policy makers in developing countries with GLCCs can learn from the Malaysian experience. At the very least, it underscores the need to assess their raison d'être periodically. This study also hopes to encourage other scholars to look into a much under‐researched area—that of a particular set of actors commonly created to promote local construction industry development.

Na, Lim Jay; Ofori, George; Ling, Florence Yean Yng; Hua, Goh Bee

doi: 10.1080/01446190701209925pmid: N/A

The complexity of the relationships among the government, national institutions and enterprises often hinders efforts to understand the effectiveness of national institutions in encouraging contractors to innovate. The role of national institutions in stimulating innovation is investigated, with a focus on construction firms in Singapore. A qualitative systems model portraying the role of national institutions in the construction industry is developed and validated through statistical analysis and interviews. Technological advance from national institutions that cultivates a competitive environment is able to stimulate a direct increase in construction innovation, and develop industry clusters that enhance the contractors' research capabilities. The primary policy recommendation is that a national body that unifies various institutions and parties within the construction sector should be established to spearhead an integrated and focused research agenda for the construction industry.

Yang, Li‐Ren

doi: 10.1080/01446190701598657pmid: N/A

Ninety‐eight capital facility projects from across Taiwan have been assessed on the issue of technology usage at the work function level and overall project cost and schedule success. The links between technology utilization and project success are explored in detail. Identification of project performance‐leveraging work functions is employed as a way to gain greater understanding of the connection between technology usage and project performance. In addition, work function characteristics (WFCs) are investigated as an additional basis for gaining deeper insights into how technology usage may impact on project success. The analyses suggest that degrees of technology used in executing the project performance‐leveraging work functions may have a significant impact on project cost or schedule performance. The results also indicate that information and data‐intensive and management‐related WFCs can positively influence project cost and schedule success.

Kaluarachchi, Yamuna D.; Jones, Keith

doi: 10.1080/01446190701504226pmid: N/A

Amphion Consortium was formed with the membership of a number of registered social landlords as an initiative in implementing the Egan agenda which championed long‐term successful partnering as a mechanism for achieving radical change in the construction industry. This was an opportunity to monitor and record the performance of 12 housing development projects and the roles played by a complex team network in contributing to an innovative partnering agreement. Relevant KPIs, benchmarks, a data collection and site monitoring system were developed. A range of workshops, questionnaire surveys, detailed interviews with key project personnel, examination of site meeting notes and feedback reviews were undertaken as research tools to gather data. An attempt was made to identify the softer, qualitative issues that are difficult to grapple with normal numerical data collection methods. A number of takeover bids within a short space of time had a substantial effect on the consortium as well as the research project. Mutual trust, effective communication, a changed mindset from all parties, the quality of the services and commitment of all stakeholders seem to be the key factors that contribute to a successful strategic partnering process.

Leung, Mei‐Yung; Skitmore, Martin; Chan, Yee Shan

doi: 10.1080/01446190701573296pmid: N/A

Cost estimators play an important role in an organization, as they produce most predictions of probable final construction cost. Since both under‐ and overestimates can be costly, attention should be paid to the estimating tasks. People involved are therefore likely to experience a considerable amount of mental and emotional stress as a result of inaccurate estimation. The types of stress can be divided into objective stress (OS), subjective stress (SS) and emotional exhaustion (EE). The research described in this paper examined the relationships between OS, SS, EE and stressors based on a survey of construction cost estimation personnel. T‐tests, factor analyses, correlation analyses and regression analyses were applied to identify differences between the professional estimators and other personnel, and the types of stress endured. The results indicate that the stress levels of both the professional estimators and other personnel are similar, with OS being significantly higher than SS, which is in turn significantly higher than EE. For professional estimators, increased levels of OS were found to be mainly associated with lack of autonomy and unfair reward and treatment. Increased SS and EE, on the other hand, appeared to be a function of relationship conflict, work underload, lack of feedback, lack of autonomy and unfair reward and treatment.

Rooke, John Alfred; Koskela, Lauri; Seymour, David

doi: 10.1080/01446190701598665pmid: N/A

New approaches to production management can be conceptualized as treating production as flow rather than transformation. These alternatives can in turn be regarded as reflecting opposing ontological positions, holding respectively that reality is constituted of temporal process, or atemporal substance. The new production philosophy thus arguably represents a process ontology radically different from the atemporal metaphysics underlying conventional methods and theories. Moreover, research in physics education has identified the disjunction between ontological categories of ‘substance’ and ‘process’ as a particularly acute barrier to understanding process phenomena. Studies are presented which demonstrate the possibility of specifying and classifying mental models, with regard to two important management solutions in construction. Thus, procedures typically adopted in quantity surveying and the implementation of structural engineering design are examined. Methods of measurement used in quantity surveying are designed to account primarily for physical, rather than temporal properties. In design, the emphasis is on representing properties of finished structures, rather than the construction processes. The process is then managed by treating the design and its execution as separate products. It is argued here that alternative, more effective management solutions are derived from a process ontology.

Lavy, Sarel; Shohet, Igal M.

doi: 10.1080/01446190701393034pmid: N/A

Global competitiveness and increasing performance requirements have placed facilities management (FM) under constraints of limited resources, particularly in non‐core aspects of facilities, such as maintenance and operations. The hypothesis applied in this research is that the actual service life of buildings, their occupancy and their ambient environmental conditions affect the required maintenance resources of these facilities. The objective was to develop a facility coefficient aiming to adjust the allocation of maintenance resources to prevailing service conditions in healthcare facilities. The research uses deterioration patterns and predicted service lives of building components and systems under moderate, standard and intensive occupancy and under two categories of environment: marine and inland. In total, five configurations combining occupancy and environmental conditions were investigated through simulations and compared to a reference configuration defined as standard occupancy and inland environment along with a building designed service life of 75 years. The findings of the simulations show that maintenance resources in healthcare facilities vary between −9% and +18% of the standard configuration. The simulation results can be used for reliable allocation of resources for maintenance of healthcare facilities. Findings can be adapted for residential, office, public and educational facilities.