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Lingard, Helen Clare; Cooke, Tracy; Blismas, Nick
doi: 10.1080/01446190903480035pmid: N/A
A multi‐level safety climate model was tested in the Australian construction industry. Subcontracted workers’ perceptions of the organizational safety response (OSR) and supervisor safety response (SSR) in their own organization and that of the principal contractor were measured using a safety climate survey administered at a large hospital construction project in Melbourne. One hundred and fourteen construction workers completed the survey, representing nine subcontractors engaged at the project. Two requisite conditions for the existence of group‐level safety climates, i.e. (1) within‐group homogeneity; and (2) between‐group variation were satisfied for perceptions of subcontractors’ OSR and SSR. This supports the contention that subcontractors working in a single construction project exhibit a unique group‐level safety climate. Subcontracted workers also discriminated between group‐level safety climates (i.e. the SSR) in their own and in the principal contractor’s organizations. The results suggest some cross‐level influence. Perceptions of the SSR were positively predicted by perceptions of the OSR in both the principal and subcontractor organizations. Perceptions of the OSR of the principal contractor were also a significant predictor of the perceived OSR and SSR in the subcontractor organizations. Perceptions of the subcontractors’ SSR were a significant predictor of the rate of lost‐time and medical treatment incidents reported by the subcontractor. Although perceptions of the principal contractor’s SSR were not directly related to subcontractors’ injury rates, they were a significant predictor of subcontractors’ SSR, revealing an indirect link. The results suggest that supervisory personnel (e.g. foremen and leading hands) play an important role in shaping safety performance in subcontracted workgroups.
Fan, Shi Chao; Shen, Qi Ping; Luo, Xiaochun
doi: 10.1080/01446191003758171pmid: N/A
Value management (VM) practitioners often encounter problems of lack of active participation and insufficient time and information in decision analysis. The use of a group decision support system (GDSS) is proposed to overcome the above problems by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of VM studies. In order to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing GDSS in VM studies, an experimental study was conducted to simulate the use of GDSS in VM studies, and then a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the views of the participants. Factor analysis was used to explore the underlying critical success factors, and the results indicated that certain requirements must be met for the successful application of GDSS in VM studies. In particular, a VM team with an appropriate computer skills mix, and GDSS with good utility were believed to be the most significant underlying factors. Besides these, two other factors, system capabilities and experimental settings, should be also considered in order to achieve a successful application of GDSS in VM studies.
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2010.483331pmid: N/A
The preferential selection of minority firms in federally assisted contracts, state contracts and large metropolitan contracts has been in effect in the US for the purpose of meeting affirmative action goals, but this practice has also raised questions about the quality of contract performance. A survey of 93 firms was conducted for a comparative investigation of the performance of minority vs. non‐minority construction management (CM) firms. Minority CM firms include firms owned by ethnic minorities, disabled persons and women. An assessment model was developed following an extensive literature review on contemporary performance measurement tools. The model was converted into a survey that was administered to prequalified minority and non‐minority firms that provided CM services in the transportation sector in the US. When a Mann‐Whitney test was administered to the collected data regardless of firm size and age, it was found that non‐minority CM firms outperformed minority CM firms. However, it was also found that minority CM firms were smaller and younger than non‐minority CM firms. When ‘large and old’ minority and non‐minority CM firms were compared, no significant differences were found in performance. But when ‘small and young’ minority and non‐minority CM firms were compared, it was found that minority firms were outperformed by non‐minority firms financially. It is concluded that ‘small and young’ minority firms particularly suffer from the liability created by smallness and newness.
Haponava, Tatsiana; Al‐Jibouri, Saad
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2010.487535pmid: N/A
Within a project environment, good process performance can be seen as indicative of eventual success of achieving end‐project goals. A model is proposed for identifying the links between process performance during construction and end‐project goals. The model is developed using process mapping technique to identify a number of process‐based key performance indicators (KPIs) designed for use in controlling process performance in the construction stage. These KPIs were then linked to generic project goals to measure the perceived degree of influence of process performance on the achievement of end‐project goals. The strength of these links within the model was established through a number of in‐depth interviews with respondents. Analysis of the results using methods of ranking and statistics has shown that some processes are perceived to have stronger relationships with the end‐project goals than others. The proposed process‐based KPIs hence offer an opportunity for control of the processes during the construction stage and eventually to influence the projects’ outcomes. In addition to the management of project time and cost, the model provides a broader focus of control that includes other multiple aspects such as the management of interactions between internal and external stakeholders as well as of information and quality management.
Kremers, Jasper; Rietjens, Bas; Voordijk, Hans; De Boer, Sirp J.
doi: 10.1080/01446191003762256pmid: N/A
There is a need for improved insights into the contracting process for construction projects that the military contract out to civil contractors in the specific setting of civil–military interaction (CMI) in regions that are suffering from instability and armed conflict. The core questions are: what are the key criteria for contracting out CMI projects in out‐of‐area operations, and what contracting methods are appropriate? First, we discuss possible methods and key criteria for contracting out CMI projects. Following this, a case study based in the Uruzgan province of Afghanistan explores key criteria for contracting out CMI projects. Based on this case study, the following five CMI‐related criteria have been identified: generating information on the civilian environment; contributing to building local capacity; process transparency; force acceptance and local participation; and contracting as a tool for stability. These criteria dominate more regular criteria such as cost and time. Some methods frequently used in developed economies, for example the open public tender procedure, seem less appropriate when contracting out CMI projects within a military mission. In CMI projects, contracting most closely resembles the multiple negotiated tender procedure. Future projects can use the identified range of methods and key criteria in designing an improved contracting process.
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2010.480976pmid: N/A
The offsite construction sector is now established as a significant contributor to the delivery of UK construction industry output. The exact value of this contribution is questionable and has been subject to substantial debate in recent literature. Existing offsite construction sector valuation methodologies have been based upon market research questionnaires and estimates of turnover and manufacturing output. Considerable attention has been given to the definition of the terms used to describe the various constituent technologies and manufacturing processes. However there has been limited reference to its size, sector classification, employment statistics and value added to the UK gross domestic output. A method is presented for the determination of the UK offsite construction sector gross output and value added. Historical data for the period 1998 to 2008 with growth forecasts up to 2013 are offered. A breakdown of the sector, examining the common standard industrial activity classification codes (SIC), the gross output and value added for each sub‐sector is provided. The results show that there has been significant underestimation of the gross output and value added when compared to previous studies. An understanding of the broad and diverse nature of the offsite construction sector is provided with data that demonstrate an overview of the sector’s historical performance. The data will assist government and industry in benchmarking, market research and forecasting the further growth and diffusion of offsite construction techniques.
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