Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

Will Swan; Malik M.A. Khalfan

2007 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/09699980710731254

Purpose – The use of partnering has grown within the public sector of the UK construction industry. Central to partnering is the use of the partnering charter. The charter establishes the mutual objectives of the project team. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of objectives that are identified and the potential reasons for them. Design/methodology/approach – A number of partnering workshops have been undertaken through one of the University of Salford's Enterprise Units, the Centre for Construction Innovation. Each of these generated a workshop report, which captured the discussions during the day. These have been analysed in order to establish the different mutual objectives that have been identified for different projects. Findings – The results show that while the key issues of time, cost, quality and safety are still central to what teams identify as successful project delivery, issues surrounding management of relationships including external stakeholders, such as the public, are also prevalent. In addition, there is an increase in identified objectives surrounding sustainable development issues, covering social and environmental goals. Originality/value – The findings provide strong indications that construction is moving towards a more complex regime of objectives in the context of value procurement and partnering arrangements. The objectives identified by the different project teams show that construction projects are now considering both soft management issues and sustainable development as central to the successful delivery of projects.

Jacqueline Glass; Mark Simmonds

2007 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/09699980710731263

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the extent to which major contractors are delivering what can be termed “considerate construction”, using case studies of housing and education projects in the UK, identify areas for improvement, particularly in the area of community engagement practices used by contractors. Design/methodology/approach – A list of key themes relating to community engagement is developed and used as a framework for case studies of projects being built by a major, multi‐disciplinary contractor that routinely registers projects with the Considerate Constructors Scheme. Findings – This research found evidence of a range of effective practices, but there is still scope for improvement. Seemingly better examples were found in projects in which the contractor took a partnered approach with both client and community, retained community relation expertise on staff, and took appropriate, timely action. Research limitations/implications – The case studies are based in the Southeast of England and focus on housing and educational projects, so the lessons learned may not apply in all instances. Practices may also vary from one contractor to another. Practical implications – The findings have implications for community engagement procedures used in construction projects. There are specific recommendations relating to the professional training of construction project managers, who need to be better equipped to deal with the local general public. Originality/value – The research complements the existing academic and industry literature on considerate construction and makes both strategic and practical recommendations to enhance on‐site community engagement practices. Thus it is of interest to both researchers and practitioners.

Mai Anh Thi Lê; Carl Brønn

2007 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/09699980710731272

Purpose – The ability to learn is an important organisational resource. The purpose of this paper is to identify issues involved in achieving transfer learning across large construction projects in the building sector. The focus is on linking experiences gained in the operation and maintenance phase of one project to the earlier construction phases in subsequent projects. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presented is conceptual in nature. Findings – Evidence from the construction industry clearly indicates that significant economic benefits can be realized by improving the experience transfer learning process across projects. Despite the industry's significant investments in computer‐based management systems, experience and research shows there are other factors that have a significant impact on this learning process. A framework for diagnosing an organisation's learning characteristics is identified. This framework includes both the structural dimension of the formal organisation and the cultural dimension of the social relationships within the organisation. Originality/value – Improved feedback from the operative and maintenance phase has the potential to reduce total life cycle costs for future construction projects. Using Kim's OADI‐SMM model of organisational learning, this paper applies a diagnostic instrument that focuses on the organisation's structural and cultural characteristics to identify breakdowns in experience transfer and learning. Awareness of the factors that inhibit experience transfer and learning can contribute to improving industry performance.

Monty Sutrisna; Peter Barrett

2007 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/09699980710731281

Purpose – Information and findings from investigations of construction projects using qualitative methodologies such as the grounded theory methodology (GTM) are inevitably rich. When using multiple case studies, the cross‐case analysis procedure has been found overwhelming and difficult to grasp all at once. Hence, an approach using rich picture diagrams (RPD) has been applied specifically for the purpose of modelling case studies and capturing the richness of the information along the case studies' storylines. This paper aims to explain the reasoning behind and the development process of such diagrams. Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigates the underlying concepts of the GTM, case study approach, and the soft system methodology (SSM) from which the RPD was originally derived. Based on the identified agreement between and consistency of both methodologies, the development of RPD to model case studies in an ongoing research project (using the GTM) is explained. The subsequent cross‐case analysis procedure is also discussed, leading to conclusions. Findings – The paper demonstrates the applicability of the RPD originating from the SSM as a tool to present the storylines of case studies within the GTM, to improve presentation and enable thorough cross‐case analysis by providing a holistic view of the storylines. Originality/value – In response to the scholarly challenge to contribute to the further development of the GTM, the paper presents the application of a tool from SSM (i.e. the RPD). Whilst enriching the techniques within the GTM, this application provides a solution for researchers and stakeholders to model case studies of construction projects.

Mastura Jaafar; T. Ramayah; Abdul‐Rashid Abdul‐Aziz; Basri Saad

2007 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/09699980710731290

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) of the managers of Malaysian construction firms. Also, the backgrounds of the managers were examined to determine the influence of background on the TRI level. Design/methodology/approach – The TRI developed by Parasuraman was adopted to measure the readiness of construction firm managers. TRI refers to people's propensity to embrace and use technologies for accomplishing goals in home life and at work. Four hundred structured questionnaires were sent out to respondents. Findings – The overall TRI score (M=3.18, SD=0.23) indicates that the managers are moderate in terms of their technology readiness. There are no significant differences in terms of technology readiness (TRI) across various demographic variables (e.g. gender, age, etc.), except for educational level. Individual dimensions of TRI, i.e. insecurity and overall TRI, show a significant difference at p <0.05 and p <0.01 to educational level, respectively. Originality/value – The findings are discussed in relation to the emerging information technology era in Malaysia. CIDB extensively promotes ICT training for managers in the CI. Research and development should be promoted to enhance the technology readiness.

Wa'el Alaghbari; Mohd. Razali A. Kadir; Azizah Salim; Ernawati

2007 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/09699980710731308

Purpose – The paper seeks to identify the major factors causing delay in building construction projects in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was used to carry out the study. The questionnaire consisted of 31 factors which were grouped into four major categories by responsibility – contractor factors, owner factors, consultant factors and external factors. The level of importance of the categories was measured and the relative importance of weights was ranked. Findings – The study finds that financial problems are the main factor and coordination problems are the second most important factor causing delay in construction projects in Malaysia. The results were analyzed to rank the causes of delay and further classify the types of delay. Research limitations/implications – The scope of this study is limited to building projects in the Klang Valley area, where major Malaysian cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Seremban are located. The data for this study was gathered through a detailed questionnaire survey. Originality/value – Based on the analysis of the ranking and intensity of causes of delay, this paper suggests possible improvements that could be made in order to reduce delays in the construction industry.