Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

Wanigarathna, Nadeeshani; Sherratt, Fred; Price, Andrew; Austin, Simon

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-07-2017-0118

The re-use of good design solutions is a key source of evidence and knowledge in the design of healthcare buildings. However, due to the unique nature of healthcare built environments, the critical application of this evidence is of paramount importance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the features of such critical application and identify the aspects that need to be considered during the re-use of good designs.Design/methodology/approachData from three case studies of hospital designs in the UK were used to explore the processes behind the adaption and re-use of design solutions during the design of healthcare buildings. Data were thematically analysed to distinguish the aspects that should be carefully compared and contrasted during design re-use.FindingsExisting designs of healthcare buildings should be captured and evaluated along with: patient demographics, care models of the hospital, other local departmental needs and facility operational aspects in order to ensure the effectiveness of re-use. In addition, properly introducing the design to the users is also a part of successful design re-use.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research were integrated into a framework to support healthcare designers on the effective re-use of good designs. This data-driven framework could be validated further with design practitioners. Further, this research relied on memory recall of the interviewees and the accuracy and completeness of documentary records.Practical implicationsThis research provides details of how healthcare built environment designs are embedded in project-unique circumstances. The results could therefore be used to develop meaningful and informative evaluation mechanisms for new and re-used healthcare building design features.Originality/valueThis research extends the understanding of the critical application of healthcare design evidence, by explaining how healthcare design solutions should be evaluated during the design process.

Zhang, Ruixi; Xing, Jinding; Ye, Kunhui; Lu, Weisheng; Shan, Yongwei

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-02-2018-0045

The purpose of this paper is to examine the features and tendency of cost indices in the global construction setting.Design/methodology/approachData from 22 countries/regions are collected and analyzed using maximum variance formulation and Kendall rank correlation coefficient.FindingsIt is found that global construction cost indexes (CCIs) have commonly maintained a steady increase for decades, and the CCIs synchronize with each other. Overall synchronicity and synchronicity of different countries pairs have increased with time significantly.Research limitations/implicationsThe major limitation, however, is the availability of data: only 22 regions/countries are examined, the distribution of these regions/countries is imbalanced between different continents and various indices are adopted around the world, of which statistical methods are not same.Practical implicationsThe implication is that a better perception of CCIs enables contractors to have a robust estimation for bidding prices and to improve the efficiency of construction projects management. The research findings also provide a useful reference for those countries that have not established construction cost indices databases to forecast the tendency of domestic construction industries.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the overall body of knowledge by presenting the co-movement of global CCIs and measuring the changes of CCI synchronicity with time and in different countries pairs.

Hasan, Abid; Jha, Kumar Neeraj

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-06-2017-0104

Delays in construction projects can be very expensive due to their adverse effects on project cost and profit margin. To overcome this problem, clients in the construction industry sometimes use schedule incentive/disincentive (I/D) contracting strategy. However, previous studies have shown that inadequate understanding and wrong implementation of schedule I/D provisions could result in unintended results. Moreover, the use of the I/D contracting method is in its initial stages in many countries such as India. The purpose of this paper is to identify various factors that are essential for schedule I/D success in construction projects.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted among experienced professionals (clients, contractors and consultants) from across the Indian construction industry.FindingsTop success factors related to clients in the descending order of their importance are: realistic targets; detailed guidelines for I/D implementation; close coordination with other stakeholders; correct estimation of I/D duration and amount; and imposing disincentives after due consideration. Meanwhile, factors related to contractor organisations are: continuous monitoring and control; thorough understanding of schedule I/D targets; specific considerations in appointing senior project personnel; effective communication; and proper labour management.Research limitations/implicationsThis empirical research was conducted in the Indian construction industry. Similar studies from developed construction markets may provide more insights into the successful use of schedule I/D provisions in construction projects.Practical implicationsThe uptake of these recommendations is likely to increase the success of schedule I/D provisions in construction projects, especially in developing countries where the use of I/D contracting strategy is not very popular.Originality/valueThis research highlights the specific roles of both clients and contractors in the success of schedule I/D projects in developing countries such as India.

Wu, Guangdong; Zhao, Xianbo; Zuo, Jian; Zillante, George

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-05-2018-0220

The purpose of this paper is fourfold: first, to investigate the effect of team diversity on different types of conflicts; second, to determine if team diversity is significantly correlated with project performance; third, to investigate the mediating effect of project conflicts on the relationship between team diversity and project performance and fourth, to examine the relationship between different types of conflicts and project performance in construction projects.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was developed and a questionnaire survey was conducted with 246 professionals. The structural equation modeling technique was applied to analyze the data.FindingsThe results showed that: team diversity was positively associated with project performance; the introduction of conflicts significantly weakened the effect of diversity on performance; conflicts have both constructive and destructive effects on project performance; and team diversity affected project performance through the mediating effects of task conflict and relationship conflict, thus adding both positive and negative effects on performance.Research limitations/implicationsThere are other factors which may affect conflicts and project performance such as communication, trust and contract. Future research could be conducted to determine the role of these variables in determining the effects of team diversity on performance.Practical implicationsIt is necessary to reduce the relationship conflict whereas maintaining a “healthy” level of task conflict. In light of this, the conclusions of this study highlight practical implications as follows: project teams should attach importance to diverse partner selection and select cooperative partners whose value orientations are similar; when implementing a construction project, the structure of diverse project teams should keep relatively stable, avoiding too many teams entering or exiting the project in a short period; project teams should make greater efforts to deal with destructive conflicts via relational governance such as trust and communication.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature in three areas. First, this study investigated the dynamic mechanism between team diversity, conflicts and performance in construction projects. Second, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on validating the mediating effects of conflicts on the relationship between team diversity and performance. Third, this study validated the positive and negative effects of team diversity on performance with different types of conflicts as mediation variables in construction projects.

Zhang, Lihan; Fenn, Peter; Fu, Yongcheng

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-05-2018-0219

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse factors that affect contractors’ behavioural strategies in resolving disputed claims.Design/methodology/approachFactors were explored by a literature review and an open-ended questionnaire survey. In total, 9 hypotheses involving 12 factors were developed accordingly. Then a structured questionnaire survey was conducted, and 248 valid questionnaires were received from Chinese contractors. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was employed to test the hypotheses.FindingsFactors that have the largest impacts on the contractual approach and the relational approach regarding obliging and compromising are favourability of evidence, time pressure and reputation, respectively. Unexpected results show that obliging behaviours are negatively correlated with procedural fairness but positively correlated with occurrence time of the dispute.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are based on correlation, although the research design improves the internal validity. Furthermore, this study belongs to single-level research. In the future, researchers can conduct multilevel research to enrich theories.Practical implicationsThe findings not only enhance practitioners’ understanding of the factors influencing contractors’ behavioural strategies when dealing with disputed claims, but also offer insights into both parties’ ex ante focus of attention on specific factors to facilitate the subsequent dispute resolution.Originality/valueThis study furnishes a nuanced picture of multiple factors’ impacts on contractors’ behavioural strategies of claim-related dispute resolution, and thus supplements the relevant construction dispute management literature. From the perspective of contractual governance, it is one of those exploring drivers of contract application in problem situations. It extends the body of knowledge on this topic and hopefully will encourage more research on contractual governance from the reactive perspective.

Ning, Yan; Feng, Minjie; Feng, Jin; Liu, Xiao

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-03-2018-0115

Drawing upon the ambivalence literature, the purpose of this paper is to explore clients’ ambivalence caused by the co-existence of trust and distrust and to investigate how clients respond to the ambivalence.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research strategies using multiple data sources were adopted. Face-to-face interviews were the major method for gathering data. Additional data sources included archival cases, official reports, regulations and rules and survey reports.FindingsThe results identified that clients’ ambivalence occurs in the face of the co-existence of trust and distrust. Clients might trust contractors on certain aspects and distrust of others or when they realize that trust and/or distrust have mixed merits and demerits. As a response strategy to the ambivalence, clients may choose to oscillate between trust and distrust in accordance with contractors’ quality and cost performance.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation is that dwelling fit-out projects are generally small in size. Parties in small size projects might have different mindsets than large projects. Thus, it is worthwhile to extend the framework to the context of large projects.Practical implicationsManagers or clients should be aware of the double-edged sword nature of trust and distrust. To deal with the ambivalence resulting from co-existence of trust and distrust, a proper balance of trust and distrust might be effective.Originality/valueThis study contributes an ambivalence approach to the trust research in project management.

Newaz, Mohammad Tanvi; Davis, Peter Rex; Jefferies, Marcus; Pillay, Manikam

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-01-2018-0003

Safety climate (SC) is considered a leading indicator of safety performance, but scholars suggest that a common SC assessment framework is yet to be developed. Following the debate between the importance of facet analysis and agent analysis, the purpose of this paper is to test a factor structure, developed by the authors in previous work and arising from their systematic literature review, highlighting the role of safety agents in a construction site setting.Design/methodology/approachMulti-level SC surveys were conducted at five construction sites in Sydney, Australia, collecting data from of 352 workers associated with a mega-construction project. While examining the factor analysis of different studies, data reliability and data validity of the survey findings were ensured and a goodness-of-fit of SC model was examined through structural equation modelling.FindingsThe systematic literature review of Newaz et al. (2018) suggested a five-factor model of: management commitment, safety system, role of the supervisor, workers’ involvement and group SC. However, empirical data indicated that the questionnaire used to measure “safety system” failed to pass scale reliability; thus, a four-factor model was proposed to develop an agent-specific SC factor structure in the construction industry.Originality/valueThe four-factor model indicates the role and level of influence of different safety agents to improve safety perceptions on construction sites. The findings of this study will encourage researchers in construction safety to use the simplified four-factor SC (agent-specific) model presented and test it to further develop a common factor structure for the construction industry. The fact that the model is comprised of four factors makes further implementation somewhat easier in the development of safety plans, and when considering the role of safety agents, therefore enhancing its potential value.

Edwards, David; Parn, Erika A.; Sing, Michael C.P.; Thwala, Wellington Didibhuku

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-03-2018-0125

Tracked hydraulic excavators are versatile and ubiquitous items of off-highway plant and machinery that are utilised throughout the construction industry. Each year, a significant number of excavators overturn whilst conducting a lifting operation, causing damage to property, personnel injury or even fatality. The reasons for the overturn are myriad, including: operational or environmental conditions; machine operator acts or omissions; and/or inadequate site supervision. Furthermore, the safe working load (SWL) figure obtained from manufacturer guidance and utilised in lift plans is based upon undertaking a static load only. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the SWL is still safe to be used in a lift plan when slewing a freely suspended (dynamic) load, and, if not, whether this may be a further contributory factor to overturn incidents.Design/methodology/approachPrevious research has developed a number of machine stability test regimes but these were largely subjective, impractical to replicate and failed to accurately measure the “dynamic” horizontal centrifugal force resulting from slewing the load. This research contributes towards resolving the stability problem by critically evaluating existing governing standards and legislation, investigating case studies of excavator overturn and simulating the dynamic effects of an excavator when slewing a freely suspended load at high rotations per minute (rpm). To achieve this, both the static load and horizontal centrifugal force from slewing this load were calculated for six randomly selected cases of an excavator, with different arm geometry configurations.FindingsThe results from the six cases are presented and a worked example of one is detailed to demonstrate how the results were derived. The findings reveal that the SWL quoted on an excavator’s lift rating chart considerably underestimates the extra forces experienced by the machine when an additional dynamic load is added to the static load whilst lifting and slewing a freely suspended load.Originality/valueThis work presents the first attempt to accurately model excavator stability by taking consideration of the dynamic forces caused by slewing a freely suspended load and will lead to changes in the way that industry develops and manages lift plans. Future research proposes to vary the weight of load, arm geometry and rpm to predict machine stability characteristics under various operational conditions, and exploit these modelling data to populate pre-programmed sensor-based technology to monitor stability in real time and automatically restrict lift mode operations.

Ekanayake, E.M.A.C.; Shen, Geoffrey; Kumaraswamy, Mohan M.

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-06-2018-0252

The purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of literature of value management (VM) and to map the VM domain to provide a launch pad for further knowledge development and dissemination.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed CiteSpace bibliometric analysis software to systematically, comprehensively and accurately review the VM-related literature and to map the VM knowledge domain.FindingsThe results reveal the current VM knowledge base, clusters, research hotspot, and the evolutionary trajectory while contributing to the development of VM knowledge by providing a dynamic platform for integrating future developments in research.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper to scientific VM knowledge is, therefore, a quantitative and accurate VM knowledge map based on a bibliometric analysis of data from the VM knowledge base, domains and evolution. The findings can be generalised and used as an effective knowledge mapping tool in a specific field of study that could complement and add significant value to the often adopted more traditional literature reviews. This study further recommends that the proposed knowledge map be frequently updated by similar future studies to fill gaps that arise with changing needs, priorities and contexts, as well as to identify corresponding future demands in the VM research domain.

Juan, Yi-Kai; Lin, I-Chieh; Tsai, Ji-Xuan

2019 Engineering Construction & Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-04-2018-0187

The purpose of this paper is to propose a hybrid decision-making model for optimizing the initial design strategies of pre-sales housing, identifying factors affecting the initial design of housing, and developing different initial design approaches and strategies based on buyers’ preferences.Design/methodology/approachIndicators and factors in line with the local initial planning and design are created according to the design quality indicator framework. The important indicators and factors are screened out preliminarily with the fuzzy Delphi method and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory based analytic network process. The performances of two actual cases under similar site conditions are checked with regard to the overall residential sales rate and time on the market (TOM).FindingsThe result shows that the proposed model can effectively improve the sales rate, shorten the TOM and better complies with buyer design strategy demands, and thus positively correlating to economic value.Originality/valuePre-sales make possible the customized strategy of allowing future residents to participate in the housing design process. However, buyers’ participation in the design process is highly limited, and developers usually determine their planning and initial residential design strategies based on experience and intuition. With the proposed approach, the initial residential design of a project can be effectively intervened, so that home users can truly participate in the design, and the residential construction service can be provided in a unique, but non-universal way.