Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

Martin Loosemore

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-05-2013-0043

Purpose – Surprisingly, given the prominence and front‐line role of subcontractors in the construction industry, their perspective is almost completely absent from construction productivity literature. Existing research in this area presents a highly one‐sided principal contractor perspective and there are very few insights into what subcontractors think. The purpose of this paper is to address the imbalance by investigating the determinants of construction productivity from a subcontractor's perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Focus groups with 71 of Australia's leading tier‐one subcontractors were conducted with the aim of exploring their insights into the productivity challenge. Findings – The findings indicate that the main determinants of productivity for subcontractors are: the quality of relationships with principal contractors; opportunity for early involvement in design; transparent tender practices; growing administration and document control; design management; project management and supervisory skills, particularly in planning, scheduling and coordination; risk management and; industrial relations (IR). Research limitations/implications – This research was conducted in Australia and similar research needs to be conducted in other countries to cross‐reference and validate the results more widely. Practical implications – In practical terms, a “culture” of productivity improvement will need to be “nurtured” across the business and supply chain if productivity is to be improved. In particular contractors should avoid bid shopping, respect subcontractor IP and talk to subcontractors earlier in a project. Social implications – By respecting the opinions of subcontractors who employ the vast majority of workers in the construction industry, productivity and employment can be increased. Originality/value – The focus group results add significantly to a more balanced understanding of what has hitherto been a one‐sided principal contractor focused debate.

Fei Ying; John Tookey; Johannes Roberti

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-06-2013-0058

Purpose – Construction logistics is an essential part of construction supply chain management (CSCM). However, limited attention has been paid to this issue in the New Zealand construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about what hampers efficiency in transporting construction materials and plants to a construction site. The intention is to gain detailed understanding of the practice and obstacles in efficient construction logistics and thus identify interventions to improve logistics efficiency, especially using the numbers of vehicle movements to the construction site as an indicator. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach was adopted with on‐site observations and interviews. Observations were performed during constructions on‐site from the start of construction to “hand‐over” to the building owner. A selection of construction suppliers and subcontractors involved in the studied project were interviewed. Findings – Data analysis suggested that cost‐related factors affecting the construction logistics, both monetary and non‐monetary factors were not measured and largely ignored, especially the possible environmental and/or social impact occurred by the truck movement. Factors in the service‐related sector were insufficiently managed in the observed site. The main contribution to inefficient construction logistics are related to understanding and implementing CSCM. It is noticed that there is inadequate awareness of CSCM and logistics efficiency largely due to lack of commitment from the management level and skills at the operational level. Originality/value – Significant intrinsic and extrinsic interventions necessary to enhance construction logistics were acknowledged from the data analysis. These include both qualitative and quantitative data. These intrinsic and extrinsic interventions, such as implementing appropriate logistics tools that suits individual site and introducing traffic management costs, offer plausible explanations regarding how to improve the efficiency in construction logistics through optimising transportation movements to the construction site.

Alexander Soo; Bee Lan Oo

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-01-2013-0010

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an experiment to test the effect of construction demand on the mark‐up price level in construction contract auctions. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental approach was adopted for this study. In a controlled laboratory environment, a first‐price sealed bid auction was simulated with varying number of projects available over ten rounds to simulate changing construction demand. Two experimental treatments were run in parallel, one exhibiting a “booming” demand over time, and the other group with a “recession” scenario. The experiment involved student (inexperienced) bidders with a construction project management background. Findings – The results show that inexperienced bidders do behave differently when subjected to varying levels of construction demand. Variations in the bid price level are affected by varying levels of construction demand and the general mark‐up level for the bidders experiencing a booming scenario was higher on average compared to bidders subjected to the recession scenario. Research limitations/implications – An identified limitation of this study is the use of student subjects in the experiment, thus the experiment results are limited in generalisation to inexperienced bidders. Further studies may be able to replicate the experiment with experienced industry practitioners to observe the results. Practical implications – The results allow for industry practitioners to gain a stronger understanding of the effects of varying levels of construction demand and the need to consider construction demand in construction contracting. For construction clients, the level of construction demand may be used as an indicator to assist in the timing to call tenders to achieve a desirable price. For contractors, increased awareness of how demand affects competition and the price level will allow additional optimisations to be achieved in the bid price. Originality/value – Construction demand has been widely known to be one of the key factors affecting contractors’ bidding decisions. However, there has been little empirical investigation of the changes in bidders’ behaviour due to varying levels of construction demand. This paper attempts to add to the empirical research knowledgebase through an experimental setting.

Nicholas Chileshe; Geraldine John Kikwasi

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-01-2013-0001

Purpose – Despite the extensive research on critical success factors (CSFs), there is a paucity of studies that examine CSFs for the deployment of risk assessment and management processes in developing countries, particularly, Africa. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perception of construction professionals on CSFs appertaining to the deployment of risk assessment and management practices (RAMP) in Tanzania with the aim of filling the knowledge gap. Design/methodology/approach – The primary data were collected from 67 construction professionals working with clients (private and public), consultants, and contractor organisations (foreign and local) within the Tanzanian construction. Response data was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with one‐way analysis of variance to examine the differences in the perception of the identified CSFs. Findings – The descriptive and empirical analysis demonstrated a disparity of the ranking of the ten CSFs among the groups; however, the differences were not significant. Based on the overall sample, the results of the mean score ranking indicate that “awareness of risk management processes”; “team work and communications”; and “management style” were the three highly ranked CSFs whereas “co‐operative culture”; “customer requirement”; and “positive human dynamics” were considered to be the least important. Research limitations/implications – The study did not differentiate the perceptions of the CSFs according to the ownership (local or foreign), and the sample consisted of organisations in one industry operating in Tanzania. Consequently, the findings may not generalise to other industries or to organisations operating in other countries. Practical implications – For RAMP to be implemented effectively, Tanzanian constructional‐related organisations should consider the identified CSFs as a vehicle for improving project success through reduction of risk uncertainty. Furthermore, regardless of the type of organisation, “management style”, “team work and communication” are necessary for the successful deployment of RAMP. Originality/value – This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on the subject within a previously unexplored context. The study provides insights on the drivers and enablers (CSFs) of risk assessment implementation across the Tanzania construction sector.

Craig Langston

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-02-2013-0014

Purpose – The measurement of construction performance is a vexed problem. Despite much research effort, there remains little agreement over what to measure and how to measure it. The problem is made even more complicated by the desire to benchmark national industry performance against that of other countries. As clearly construction cost forms part of the analysis, the mere adjustment of cost data to an “international currency” has undermined past attempts to draw any meaningful conclusions. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper introduces a new method for comparing international construction efficiency, tested on a data set of 337 modern high‐rise buildings in both Australia and the USA, and in so doing demonstrates that the ratio of cost over time is capable of ranking the efficiency of projects, building contractors, cities and even entire industries – not only today, but retrospectively over time. Findings – It is concluded that, based on data from the largest five cities in each country, efficiency on site is improving in both countries. The growth in baseline cost/m 2 suggests a possible rise in project complexity over time. While the trend in efficiency improvement is similar, there is evidence that base costs in Australia have outstripped the USA, meaning that “real” construction efficiency in Australia is relatively less. If Australia held an advantage in the past, then it seems that advantage might be disappearing. The USA is outperforming Australia in terms of construction efficiency by 1.10 per cent per annum. Originality/value – Cost is measured as the number of standard “citiBLOC” baskets necessary to construct a project, where a standard basket comprises common and globally applicable construction items priced in each city in local currency, removing the need to apply currency exchange rates that otherwise introduce volatility and erroneous outcomes. Time is measured as the number of months between commencement on site and handover, inclusive of delays related to the construction process on site. Construction efficiency is defined as the ratio of construction cost per month, and is used to comment on the relative performance of the procurement process in different locations.

Terence Lam; Keith Gale

2014 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ECAM-02-2013-0016

Purpose – The construction industry in the UK has a history of client dissatisfaction. A potential solution for improvement is through use of a framework agreement, where long‐term relationships between parties may focus upon performance. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether use of framework agreements for highway maintenance projects can result in significant improvement for performance when compared with engagement of contractors through traditional discrete methods. Design/methodology/approach – A single‐case study approach is used to investigate outcomes set within the context of a major county council in the UK. Quantitative data compiled from 164 civil engineering highway maintenance projects are separated into two groups – one represents those procured using traditional discrete methods and the other within a framework agreement. Findings – Results from independent‐samples t ‐tests identified significant improvements in overall performance and in time (finish on time), cost (payment accuracy) and quality (defects and health and safety) resulted from the framework agreements. Research limitations/implications – The results of this study are derived from one unique and typical case, but they form a baseline upon which further research can build to test their significance in many other settings for construction and maintenance programme, especially in housing, education and highways. This research does not cover the impact of framework agreements on production and transaction costs which should be treated as a separate area for further research. Practical implications – Councils have a statutory duty to provide and maintain a wide range of local services and facilities, including transportation and road network. Conclusions from this study support use of framework agreements within a public sector environment, leading to improvement for contractor performance due to longer term relationship with clients. This in turn enhances quality of works and hence value for money from the councils’ highway budgets. Originality/value – Construction frameworks are a relatively new idea. Although a number of frameworks have been concluded, there is very little analysis regarding performance outcomes. This research tested and confirmed the validity of impact of this new approach on contractor performance.