Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

Martin Loosemore; Vivien Chow; Denny McGeorge

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-10-2012-0060

Purpose – A predicted increase in climate change‐related extreme weather events will present hospitals with new health‐related and physical risks which were not originally anticipated in building and infrastructure designs. Markus et al. 's building systems model is used to analyse a range of adaptive strategies to cope with such events. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Focus group interviews were conducted with a wide range of hospital stakeholders across three case study hospitals in Australia and New Zealand which have experienced extreme weather events. Findings – It is concluded that effective adaptive strategies must balance responses across different organisational sub‐systems. Contrary to previous research, the findings indicate that hospital managers do see hospital infrastructure as an important component of disaster response. However, it is the least adaptable of all response subsystems, making other options more attractive in the heat of a crisis. Research limitations/implications – A focus on three case studies allowed the researchers to explore in‐depth the experiences of stakeholders who had experienced extreme weather events. While producing highly valid results, the inherent limitation of this approach is the lack of breath. So further case studies are needed to generalise from the results. Practical implications – Recommendations are made to improve the adaptive capacity of healthcare facilities to cope with the future health challenges of climate change risk. Originality/value – By acknowledging that no one group holds all the knowledge to deal with extreme weather events, this paper capture the collective knowledge of all key stakeholders who have a stake in the process of responding effectively to such an event. It shows that hospital adaptation strategies cannot be considered in isolation from the surrounding emergency management systems in which a hospital is imbedded.

Tarek Zayed; Elsayed Mohamed

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-02-2012-0015

Purpose – Tight schedules in high‐rise building construction force project managers to use the formwork even in a bad weather condition. Insufficient craning, which is typically the bottleneck in construction activities, and lack of space in confined sites make it hard to install the formwork on the ground. The Automatic Climbing System (ACS), a type of jump forms, solves these problems enabling the formwork to climb in various weather and height conditions. The aim of this paper is to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Current research focusses on the ACS, its application, and productivity assessment. Productivity and construction data are collected from a specialized company in such type of forms. A bracket productivity model has been developed to estimate floor construction cycle time and productivity. Findings – Results show that average productivity is four days/floor. The developed model is validated, which shows robust results 97.80 percent. Research limitations/implications – The implementation of the developed models are limited to only two projects. However, the developed models and framework is sound for future improvement. Practical implications – The developed methodology and model play essential roles in decision‐making process. Originality/value – The developed methodology and model are beneficial to researchers, practitioners, and planners of construction projects. It provides practitioners with charts that assist in scheduling and managing resources for jump form application. In addition, it provides researchers with a floor cycle time model and framework of implementing jump forms to high‐rise buildings.

Abdullah O. AlSehaimi; Patricia Tzortzopoulos Fazenda; Lauri Koskela

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-03-2012-0032

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing the Last Planner System (LPS) to improve construction planning practice and enhance site management in the Saudi construction industry. Design/methodology/approach – LPS was implemented in two large state‐owned construction projects through an action research process. The data collection methods included interviews, observations and a survey questionnaire. Findings – The findings identify benefits including improved construction planning, enhanced site management and better communication and coordination between the parties involved. The paper describes the critical success factors for LPS implementation. The paper also describes barriers to the realisation the full potential of LPS, including the involvement of many subcontractors and people's commitment and attitude to time. Research limitations/implications – The work reported in this paper is limited to two case studies. Practical implications – The study has thus contributed to improving management practice and may aid the establishment of a basis for the development of further research in the area of lean construction. The research outcomes can inform practitioners of the opportunity to implement alternative management methods in construction, and give a good account of the opportunities and challenges. Beside the direct benefits to managerial practice, the study also contributed to practice by offering practical recommendation that can assist in the achievement of the full potential of lean and LPS in Saudi Arabia. Originality/value – This is the first comprehensive academic study in the Saudi construction sector concerning the application of lean construction principles and techniques. The study has thus contributed to practice and developed a basis for the development of further research in the area of lean construction. It may help construction organisations to establish a new strategy and policies to improve their managerial practice. The outcomes of the case studies can be used as a reference for organisations seeking to improve their managerial practice.

Patrick Manu; Nii Ankrah; David Proverbs; Subashini Suresh

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-07-2012-0070

Purpose – Despite the established significance of underlying accident causes to health and safety (H&S), and the persistent reporting of the underlying accident causal influence of construction project features (CPFs) which emanate from pre‐construction decisions, no empirical research has focused on CPFs in terms of assessing their degree of potential to influence accident occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to, therefore, investigate this facet of the accident causal influence of CPFs. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method design was used involving semi‐structured interviews, and a questionnaire survey of UK construction professionals. Findings – CPFs generally have a moderate or a high potential to influence accident occurrence, implying a fair or severe potential to cause harm in terms of the H&S of workers. The degree of potential of CPFs to influence accident occurrence is influenced by: the extent to which certain proximate causes of accidents are common/prevalent within CPFs;and the degree of potential of those proximate causes to influence accident occurrence. Originality/value – These findings provide insight into the H&S consequences of CPFs, awareness of which is essential if pre‐construction project participants are to implement appropriate risk control measures especially in the early phases of projects to mitigate the accident causal influence of CPFs. The findings reinforce the contribution of clients and their design and project management teams to accident causation, the significance of the early planning of H&S in construction project delivery, and the importance of driving mechanisms such as the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Tarek Hegazy; Mohamed Abdel‐Monem; Dina Atef Saad

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-08-2012-0080

Purpose – This paper aims at improving progress tracking and control of repetitive projects by developing a novel framework that automates the documentation of as‐built information directly into the project schedule and also introduces enhanced linear scheduling formulation to support project control decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed framework uses e‐mail technology to facilitate detailed tracking of daily as‐built events of all parties through bidirectional communication between site and head office. It also provides a new formulation for more accurate critical path and linear scheduling computation to accurately update the project's time and cost during construction. Findings – Using a case study of a road project, the paper proves that the proposed framework reduces as‐built documentation effort and its schedule updates are more responsive to all as‐built events than traditional scheduling techniques. Research limitations/implications – The proposed method applies to linear projects (e.g. highways) and can be extended to other repetitive projects such as high‐rise buildings. It can also be extended to include voice features and procedures for forensic schedule analysis. Practical implications – The developed methodology presents a low‐cost approach to document timely progress information for decision makers of massive linear projects (often associated with infrastructure) to have better control over the execution of projects, save documentation time and cost, and avoid disputes and problems. Originality/value – This research contributes in improving construction productivity by collecting timely as‐built information using affordable communication technologies. It also presents novel advancements to the existing scheduling and control techniques to suit linear projects, which are most challenging.

Palaneeswaran Ekambaram; Peter E.D. Love; Mohan M. Kumaraswamy; Thomas S.T. Ng

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-04-2010-0029

Purpose – Rework is an endemic problem in construction projects and has been identified as being a significant factor contributing cost and schedule overruns. Causal ascription is necessary to obtain knowledge about the underlying nature of rework so that appropriate prevention mechanisms can be put in place. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Using a supervised questionnaire survey and case‐study interviews, data from 112 building and engineering projects about the sources and causes of rework in projects were obtained. A multivariate exploration was conducted to examine the underlying relationships between rework variables. Findings – The analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between rework causes for building and civil engineering projects. The set of associations explored in the analyses will be useful to develop a generic causal model to examine the quantitative impact of rework on project performance so that appropriate prevention strategies can be identified and developed. Research limitations/implications – The limitations include: small data set (112 projects), which include 75 from building and 37 from civil engineering projects. Practical implications – Meaningful insights into the rework occurrences in construction projects will pave pathways for rational mitigation and effective management measures. Originality/value – To date there has been limited empirical research that has sought to determine the causal ascription of rework, particularly in Hong Kong.