Measuring the invisible

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1921-1934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Ying ◽  
John Tookey ◽  
Jeff Seadon
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
The Invisible

PurposeConstruction logistics is an essential part of Construction Supply Chain Management for both project management and cost aspects. The quantum of money that is embodied in the transportation of materials to site could be 39–58 per cent of total logistics costs and between 4 and 10 per cent of the product selling price for many firms. However, limited attention has been paid to measure the logistics performance at the operational level in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about managing logistics costs by setting a key performance indicator (KPI) based on the number of vehicle movements to the construction site.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was adopted with on-site observations and interviews. Observations were performed from the start of construction until “hand-over” to the building owner. A selection of construction suppliers and subcontractors involved in the studied project were interviewed.FindingsData analysis of vehicle movements suggested that construction transportation costs can be monitored and managed. The identified number of vehicle movements as a KPI offers a significant step towards logistics performance management in construction projects.Originality/valueThis research paper demonstrates that framework of using vehicular movements meet the criterion of effective KPI and is able to detect rooms for improvements. The key findings shed valuable insight for industry practitioners in initiating the measurement and monitor “the invisible logistics costs and performance”. It provides a basis for benchmarking that enables comparison, learning and improvement and thereby continuous enhancement of best practice at the operational level, which may accelerate the slow SCM implementation in the construction industry.

A journey towards integrated person-centred care: a case study of a mental health perspective in the voluntary sector

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Kermode
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Voluntary Sector ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care

PurposePerson-centred care is a fundamental component of any service. This case study aims to explore the delivery of person-centred care in the voluntary sector, discussing how integrating support can be achieved to benefit individuals. It identifies challenges, best practice and learning that can be applied across sectors and promotes further enquiry.Design/methodology/approachThis case study is the result of a service audit at a mental health charity. The findings are a blend of reflections, observations and examples from service delivery, synthesised with national policy to provide evidence of best practice and processes that enable person-centred care.FindingsA focus on need not diagnosis, creating accessible and inclusive services, employing dual trained practitioners, having a varied skill mix along with holistic self-assessment tools are all enablers for integrated person-centred support. Multi-agency assessment frameworks, collaboration across services, cross-agency supervision and a shared vision for integration and person-centred care support services to coordinate more effectively. Barriers to integrated person-centred support include complex physical and mental health needs and harmful risk and safeguarding. The diversity of the voluntary sector, a lack of resources along with complex and competitive funding also hinder integration.Originality/valueThis case study provides a valuable insight into the voluntary sector and shares its findings to enhance best practice. It aims to promote interest and invites further research into health and social care delivery by the voluntary sector. As this delivery continues to increase, it is vital to examine the interface between the voluntary and statutory sector. Through better understanding and further research across all sectors, the author can identify how they can achieve person-centred outcomes and deliver the national policies.

A comprehensive overview on BIM-integrated cyber physical system architectures and practices in the architecture, engineering and construction industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anish Banerjee ◽  
R. Ramesh Nayaka
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Physical System ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Cyber Physical System ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
System Architectures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Project Objectives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate building information modelling (BIM) integrated Internet of Things (IoT) architectures extensively and provide comparative evaluation of those against deciding parameters pertaining to their characteristics and subsequent applications in construction industry. Design/methodology/approach This paper identifies BIM-integrated cyber physical system frameworks, specific to project objectives, comprising of sensors working as physical assets and BIM-based virtual models acting as the cyber component , connected via wired or wireless protocols (e.g. WiFi, Zigbee, near-field communication, mobile-to-mobile, Zwave, 3 G, 4 G, long-term evolution, 5 G and low-power wide-area networks) and their potential applications in decision-making, visual management, logistics and supply chain management, smart building system management and structural performance assessment, etc. Such proposed architectures are evaluated against deciding parameters such as availability, reliability, mobility, performance, management, scalability, interoperability and security and privacy to evaluate their respective efficiencies. Findings This study finds that the underlying aim of planned IoT frameworks is to integrate systems and processes for a better information flow and to initiate shift from silo solutions to a smart ecosystem. The efficiencies of such frameworks are completely subjective to their respective project natures, objectives and requirements. Originality/value This study is unique in its nature to identify requirements of an efficient BIM-integrated IoT architecture and provide comprehensive insights about potential applications in construction industry.

Comparing the levels of performance of small scale local government contractors in Northern Nigeria with international practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 588-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuru Gambo ◽  
Ilias Said ◽  
Radzi Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
National Development ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Performance Levels ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Contractors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the performance levels of small scale local government contractors (SSLGCs) in northern part of Nigeria with international practice. Previous studies focused attention primarily on benchmarking the performance of contractors, but were mostly conceptual rather than from empirical findings. This continuous to pose a challenge to the sustainable development of the construction industry, particularly, in developing countries like Nigeria. There is therefore a need to identify, assess and compare performance practice levels of small scale contractors. Design/methodology/approach The performance of each contractor was evaluated using a five-point Likert scale used in obtaining mean performance levels in respect to three classes of performance practices. A questionnaire survey was administered to major parties in the industry; clients, contractors and consultants who were selected by using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The contractors’ performance was compared by using ANOVA with post hoc. Findings The results indicated that the SSLGCs in Nigeria were average performers and there were effects and differences among the various contractors’ levels of performance with international practice. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to SSLGCs in northern part of Nigeria. Practical implications The study provided the criteria for evaluation of SSLGCs’ performance in Nigeria and other developing countries that faced similar problems. Social implications The study created bases for self-evaluation and competition among small scale contractors in Nigeria for the enhancement of productivity particularly in rural areas and general national development. Originality/value This study emanated from the governmental reports and past researches in the area of performance management on the persistence of the poor performance of small scale contractors in construction industry.

Black South African women in construction: cues for success

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane English ◽  
Paula Hay
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
South African ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Barriers To Entry ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the findings of interviews based on a questionnaire and a focus group discussion (conducted in 2011) with three Black women employees who were part of a 2006 study, which canvassed 176 employees and employers, in which carpentry was found to be considered the most accessible and appropriate skills area for women, and chronicles their development and assessment of current employment for women in construction. Design/methodology/approach – The focus group was made up of the women from the 2006 study still in the same employment or better positions in the same company Neil Muller Construction (NMC) after five years. Women from NMC, in particular, were selected because the company has been considered a best practice example and therefore would provide an interesting context in terms of the issues around retention of women and potentially a model for the industry. Foci are female representation, barriers, conditions, skills acquisition and employers’ attitudes to family responsibilities. In particular, measures to support women and the impact of role models and mentoring programmes are discussed. Findings – The results of the 2011 focus group study show that positive measures for women to work in construction are developing, both through legislation (e.g. the Construction Charter) and company efforts such as those of NMC. Both the 2006 and 2011 studies highlighted that female attributes such as being peacekeepers on site were considered favourable, indicating a positive shift in attitude regarding women working in construction. Research limitations/implications – There has been and remains a paucity of research into and literature on the topic of women in the construction industry, particularly working at the skills level. Practical implications – The paper has practical implications for employers wanting to increase employment and retention of women on site by providing a best practice example. Social implications – Increased employment of women is a statuary requirement of South African employment law. Women are, on average, the lowest wage earners. Originality/value – The paper reviews challenges for women in construction and ways these can be circumvented through interaction between industry and companies. The challenges are entry and retention because of the practices and attitudes typical in a male-dominated work environment. As a follow-up to previous research of 2006 into barriers to entry for women, this paper adds value by considering retention and a best practice example. As women’s lack of knowledge of the sector is also a barrier, this paper contributes to building knowledge. Further research should determine developing trends in terms of women’s representation in the construction industry.

Qualitative research: deductive and inductive approaches to data analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theophilus Azungah
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the rationale for choosing the qualitative approach to research human resources practices, namely, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, rewards management, employee communication and participation, diversity management and work and life balance using deductive and inductive approaches to analyse data. The paper adopts an emic perspective that favours the study of transfer of human resource management practices from the point of view of employees and host country managers in subsidiaries of western multinational enterprises in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Despite the numerous examples of qualitative methods of data generation, little is known particularly to the novice researcher about how to analyse qualitative data. This paper develops a model to explain in a systematic manner how to methodically analyse qualitative data using both deductive and inductive approaches. Findings The deductive and inductive approaches provide a comprehensive approach in analysing qualitative data. The process involves immersing oneself in the data reading and digesting in order to make sense of the whole set of data and to understand what is going on. Originality/value This paper fills a serious gap in qualitative data analysis which is deemed complex and challenging with limited attention in the methodological literature particularly in a developing country context, Ghana.

scholarly journals Employee performance management: charting the field from 1998 to 2018

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Frances Maley ◽  
Dabic Marina ◽  
Miriam Moeller
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Future ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the development and consider the future of one of the most controversial areas of human resource development – employee performance management (PM).Design/methodology/approachThrough bibliometrics, a multiple correspondence analysis identifies the main research directions of PM studies and provides a map of descriptors and a list of authors, along with a framework to track PM literature over 20 years (1998–2018).FindingsScholars have attempted to address some of the questions raised by earlier researchers. However, critical questions remain unanswered, and there is increasing dissatisfaction with the process. The most glaring yet unaddressed problem with PM is poor employee acceptability of the process.Practical implicationsIf the research gaps are addressed, the lack of acceptability of the PM could be resolved and more effectively managed in the future.Originality/valueThe study particularly addresses poor employee “acceptability” of the PM process, a subject that has received limited attention by scholars.

Key challenges faced by Chinese contractors in Malaysian construction industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-726
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap ◽  
Sin Yi Cheah
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major challenges faced by Chinese international contractors (CICs) in the Malaysian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory sequential mixed-methods research approach was adopted where following a detailed literature review and semi-structured interviews with local professionals, 20 prevalent challenges experienced by CICs are identified. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was used to elicit the views of 100 construction practitioners. Descriptive statistics were used to prioritise the challenges, while exploratory factor analysis was conducted to uncover the underlying factors. Findings The five most crucial challenges identified relate to: changes of regulation, cost control, contract clauses, language barrier and quality control. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four major underlying dimensions of these challenges, in connection to financial and government policy management, organisational performance management, supplier relationship management and cross-cultural management. Research limitations/implications The challenges are considered primarily involving CICs in the context of Malaysia; further work can be extended to Western or other East Asian, such as Japanese and Korean, international contractors undertaking construction projects in Malaysia or selected developing countries around the region. Practical implications This study will benefit professionals involved with China-backed construction projects in countries sharing demographics and socio-economic characteristics akin to Malaysia. The outcome of the study is expected to facilitate project managers to devise proactive risk-mitigation measures to reduce the impact of these challenges and to improve project delivery. Originality/value The paper examined the challenges faced by CICs in the Malaysian context. This is a timely study, as China’s Belt and Road Initiative will provide considerable opportunities for Chinese companies in Malaysia.

Addressing sustainable challenges in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Zhai ◽  
Richard Reed ◽  
Anthony Mills
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Residential Construction ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cheap Labour ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach to addressing increasing sustainable challenges facing China's built environment which are linked to a diverse range of factors including rapid economic and population growth. The research context includes mass urbanisation in and the Chinese construction industry's attitude towards adopting sustainable construction processes. The focus is placed on examining current on-site construction practices in China which have historically remained largely unchanged; this includes a high reliance on cheap labour accompanied by a substantial material waste. An alternative approach is to increase the uptake of off-site production in China's residential construction industry, however no previous studies have investigated the potential advantages and barriers of this alternative approach. Design/methodology/approach – In collaboration with an industry organisation a survey was completed by 110 construction professionals in China. The questionnaire referred to 21 individual factors relating to their perception about the current and potential future uptake of off-site production in construction processes in China. Findings – The results confirmed the existing level of off-site production in China's urban residential construction industry was relatively low. At present the cast-in-situ method was considered by stakeholders as the most effective approach. The findings also confirmed the benefits of off-site production are not fully understood by the housing construction industry in China. It is argued this knowledge gap reduces the Chinese construction industry's motivation levels when seeking to embrace the off-site production approach and adopt improved sustainable construction practices. Originality/value – This is an original study designed to address a gap in knowledge as there has been no previous research conducted into the use of off-site industrialised process in China. The results provide a valuable insight into the uptake of off-site production in the residential construction industry and will assist stakeholders and policymakers to increase the level of sustainability.

scholarly journals The organization design perspective on the project-based organization: a structured review

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxim Miterev ◽  
J. Rodney Turner ◽  
Mauro Mancini
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Organizational Design ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Organization Design ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Design Perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use an organizational design perspective to determine the scope of the state-of-the art of research into project-based organizations. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a structured framework-based literature review approach. It uses an analytical framework from the organization design literature to assess 177 papers relevant to the design of the project-based organization that were published in four leading PM journals between 2008 and 2015. The authors determine which elements of organization design are covered in each paper and identify specific research themes for each of the element emerging from the literature. Finally, the authors examine the degree to which interdependencies among separate elements are addressed in the literature and discuss the most holistic papers in more details. Findings The results show that the literature on project-based organizations downplays broader organizational issues (such as organizational strategy, incentive schemes and performance management systems) while emphasizing research agenda inherited from research on single project management. In addition, the study highlights limited attention in the literature to the interdependence between separate design choices. Finally, it develops a research framework to map current themes in the literature and their relative importance and discusses a prospective research agenda. Research limitations/implications Academic implications stem from looking at the project management literature from a fresh theoretical perspective and putting project-based organization as a whole in the focus. There is a great research potential in studying organization-wide aspects and interdependencies between various organization design choices in project-based organizations. Practical implications Reflective practitioners could benefit from a wider view on the project-based organization and its design. They could also use the developed framework in management discussions. Originality/value The paper offers a novel way of conceptualizing research on project-based organizations by linking it to an established stream within the field of organization theory and design.

The reliability of currency and purchasing power parity conversion for international project cost benchmarking

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Langston
Keyword(s):  
Purchasing Power Parity ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
Power Parity ◽  
Comparative Performance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Project Cost ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Currency Conversion

Purpose – Project cost is normally a key performance indicator for all projects, and therefore features prominently in benchmarking exercises aimed at identifying best practice. However, projects in different locations first require all costs to be expressed in equivalent units. Failing to do this leads to erroneous and unreliable results. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Applying international construction as the focus for the study, cost data from 23 cities worldwide are compared using a range of methods including currency conversion and purchasing power parity (PPP). Coefficient of variation (CoV) forms the test for identifying the method with the lowest volatility. Findings – It is found that purchasing power is the preferable theoretical base for international cost conversion, and currency conversion (frequently used by practitioners) is not recommended. The citiBLOC PPP method has the lowest CoV across the data set and therefore more closely reflects the Law of One Price that underpins the concept of PPP. Originality/value – This research highlights the importance of a valid cost conversion methodology to properly understand the comparative performance of projects. Its application to benchmarking is demonstrated using the data envelopment analysis method.

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