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Construction project procurement
Published in Rick Best, Jim Meikle, Describing Construction, 2023
Changes in procurement systems have often been driven by changes in technology. For instance, the development of prestressed concrete in France by Freyssinet and others led to a change in the way procurement took place. The engineer had a leading role in the design process and the architect made use of the engineers’ knowledge of new technology to develop new and leaner built forms. Nowadays there is a focus once more on prefabrication, volumetric construction and modular integrated construction (MiC). In the early 1960s the British construction industry focused on prefabrication for building schools and housing as demand for rapid construction as a growing economy and population forced change on the industry and society (Orlowski 1969). Unfortunately, many of these prefabrication systems failed to meet expectations due to quality and technology issues. These issues are being addressed with modern systems that make use of digital construction and logistics to improve quality and delivery.
Great Britain
Published in Enzo Pranzini, Allan Williams, Coastal Erosion and Protection in Europe, 2013
Simon J. Blott, Robert W. Duck, Michael R. Phillips, Nigel I. Pontee, Kenneth Pye, Allan Williams
Phase 1 Masterplan was conceived and designed by landscape architects Ferguson and MacIlveen (now part of URS Scott Wilson). The works were planned to be carried out in three subsequent phases, starting in the north of the area and moving southwards in the direction of Blackpool, under a partnership between Wyre Borough Council and Birse Coastal Ltd. The combined cost of Phase 2 and 3, undertaken between 2005 and 2008, was approximately 20 million. Phase 4 was completed, in July 2010 at an additional cost of more than 6 million. The design sought to combine engineering and visual aspirations by incorporating a stepped revetment on the seaward side providing access to the beach, a wave form in plan, and a wide promenade behind the seawall for multifunctional use. Construction involved a combination of sheet piling, in-situ cast foundation concrete, pre-cast revetment slabs made of bright white concrete, and exposed aggregate, sand-coloured concrete for the surface of the promenade. The project has achieved several awards, including the British Construction Industry's Environmental award and the North West Construction Industry `project of the year' award.
Business Improvement through Innovation in Construction Firms: The ‘Excellence’ Approach
Published in Ben Obinero Uwakweh, Issam A. Minkarah, 10th Symposium Construction Innovation and Global Competitiveness, 2002
Herbert S. Robinson, Patricia M. carrillo, Chimay J. Anumba, Ahmed M. Al-Ghassan
Within the AEC sector, small and medium projects form a greater proportion of the workload undertaken by a majority of the companies. Table 1 for example shows the distribution of new works in Britain and illustrates the dominance of small and medium projects both in the public and private sectors. The data from 1997 is generally mirrored in the construction business environment in that preceding and succeeding annual returns present a similar level on orders for the construction sector in Britain. The high proportion of small and medium projects is not unique to the British construction industry but is reflected across most of the advanced economies including the US (Department of Commerce, 2001). This pattern is not any different in other economies, and is particularly pronounced in developing economies where small and medium projects account for even a much higher proportion of all available works (Langford and Rowland, 1995).
BIM policy and management
Published in Construction Management and Economics, 2020
A particularly remarkable example is the construction strategy of the British government, which was initiated in 2011 with the declared objective of reducing costs and lowering the carbon footprint of construction projects through the use of BIM methods and technologies. The UK government also aimed to put the British construction industry “at the vanguard of a new digital construction era and position the UK to become the world leaders in BIM” (Maude 2012) in order to acquire a significant competitive advantage on the international market. The key aspect of the 2011 UK construction strategy was to demand “fully collaborative 3D-BIM”, which corresponds to BIM Level 2, for all centrally procured construction projects from 2016 onwards. At the time of writing, this goal has been mostly met. This is supported by an annual BIM survey that reports a significant increase in the adoption of BIM methods by the UK construction industry over the past years (ref).
Applying The DQI-based Kano model and QFD to develop design strategies for visitor centers in national parks
Published in Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2023
The British construction industry association in 1999 presented the framework of Design Quality Indicator (DQI), and it can be divided into three dimensions: Build Quality, Build Functionality, and Build Impact. The three dimensions are further subdivided into ten indicators: use, access, space, performance, engineering, construction, internal environment, form and materials, urban and social integration, and character and innovation (Gann et al., 2003). Combined with the design requirements of national park facilities and VCs, the design requirements of VCs in national parks can be summarized and organized into Table 1 according to the ten DQI indicators.
Capturing and reusing knowledge: analysing the what, how and why for construction planning and control
Published in Production Planning & Control, 2021
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap, Kamran Shavarebi, Martin Skitmore
Cronbach’s α for CLS and RPK are 0.772 and 0.894 respectively, which is higher than 0.70 value needed for acceptable reliability and internal consistency of the research instrument (Hair et al. 2010). Table 3 presents the ranking of the parameters using the mean score method, as this approach is widely utilised to prioritise variables in construction and knowledge management research (Manley and Chen 2017; Dang, Le-Hoai, and Kim 2018). The three most significant CLS are: (1) team working relationship (mean = 4.18); (2) sharing of experiences with others (mean = 4.08); and (3) project mistakes (mean = 4.07). Sharing knowledge between team members is crucial to achieving organisational learning and collective competence (Hu and Randel 2014; Irani et al. 2017). Similarly, Bishop et al.’s (2009) study of the British construction industry asserts that collaborative working (‘knotworking’) potentially enhances the quality and quantity of learning, relative to the traditional adversarial ways. Leveraging on digital edge for knowledge sharing, Irani et al. (2017) suggest using social media/Web 2.0 for sense- and decision-making to improve quality, cost, and flexibility. Kotnour (2000) asserts that willingness to address problems, mistakes, and errors openly and honestly stimulates learning, and produces LL that can then be shared and reused. One contractor interviewee specifically stressed that team spirit emboldens synergic relationships between the various professionals involved to complete projects successfully, also opining that individuals should not repeat the same mistakes more than twice; otherwise self-improvement has not materialised. As such, transforming error events into experiences enables error management (Love and Smith 2016). Another client interviewee suggested seeking guidance from experienced individuals as part of mentored learning to help understand the issues with an open mind. Experienced-based and tacit knowledge can be effectively disseminated through storytelling and coaching programmes (Terzieva and Morabito 2016). Another consultant interviewee added that managing human relationships is essential in project-based work. This finding is akin to Eraut (2014) advocation that group activities regularly give rise to project learning.