Research on the rework risk core tasks in prefabricated construction in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaicheng Shen ◽  
Xiaodong Li ◽  
Xinying Cao ◽  
Zhang Zhihui

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the process of prefabricated construction (PC) and analyze the impacts of rework risk to identify the core tasks for which the rework risk has severe impacts.Design/methodology/approachThe methods consist of a literature review, expert interviews, a questionnaire survey and a rework risk function. The expert interviews and questionnaire survey were administered to experts in the entire process of PC from the dimensions of rework frequency, rework cost and rework time. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data. The rework risk function was based on the loss expectancy method.FindingsThere are 13 core tasks that have higher impacts than the average level. The core tasks in the design stage account for 100% of the tasks in the stage, those in the manufacturing stage account for 20% and those in the construction stage account for 23.1%. Compared with the other stages, the design stage is characterized by significantly more frequent rework, higher rework costs and longer rework time. The manufacturing stage is characterized by significantly higher rework costs than the construction stage. The manufacturing stage and construction stage are co-reliant, and both are impacted by the design stage.Practical implicationsThe findings provide stakeholders with a clear understanding of the core tasks of the PC process and represent a method for identifying core tasks. Stakeholders can learn from this to focus on the core tasks to reduce rework risk and manage the process with the priority of PC rework management based on the following order: design > manufacturing > construction. The approach is suitable for core task identification in other areas.Originality/valueThis research provides insight into rework risk management and provides a novel analysis method for rework risk and PC management from the perspective of the construction process. The findings are valuable for supporting stakeholders in making effective construction plans to reduce the impacts of rework risk in PC and provide a reference for future research on process optimization.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 3289-3308
Author(s):  
Chengshuang Sun ◽  
Hanting Xu ◽  
Shaohua Jiang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify risk factors in building information modeling (BIM) technology application, analyze the correlation between risk factors, and find the most influential risk factors using interpretative structural model (ISM), put forward a response to targeted suggestions, and provide a reference for widespread BIM technology application.Design/methodology/approachLiterature reviews, ISM, a questionnaire survey and expert interviews were used in this paper. First, the risk factors of BIM technology application and their relationships were determined by consulting the relevant BIM literature. Second, to more intuitively reflect the relationships between risk factors, an ISM model based on expert interviews was established to structure the explanatory relationships and hierarchical relationships between factors. Finally, a questionnaire survey was conducted for relevant practitioners, and a scale was designed to evaluate the risk factors of BIM technology application to determine the risk factors that have a greater impact on implementing BIM technology.FindingsThe root risk factors of BIM technology consist of unclear data ownership, incomplete standard BIM systems, lack of industry insurance, lack of BIM technicians, lack of BIM project practice experience, BIM infrastructure preparation, inconsistent thinking about BIM from project participants, changes in delivery mode and software function problems.Research limitations/implicationsThe risk-sharing of BIM technology and the analysis of responsibilities, rights and benefits of all parties in a BIM project can be used as future research directions to solve higher management problems.Originality/valueThis paper describes the risks of BIM technology application for related researchers and provides another research train of thought for the follow-up studies.


Author(s):  
Catalin Ratiu ◽  
Beverlee B. Anderson

Purpose – There are many different conceptualizations to sustainable development and these different approaches may have led to confusion amongst the public. The purpose of this paper is to explore the identities of the term and how the confused identity may be leading to problems for sustainable development efforts. Design/methodology/approach – The design is exploratory, using both secondary and primary data to understand the different sustainable development concepts. Findings – There is no consistent understanding or use of the term “sustainable development” among various groups. Research limitations/implications – Future research should include a larger sample that is more representative of people from different backgrounds and geographical areas. Practical implications – The public is generally willing to support only projects that it understands. Without a clear understanding of sustainable development, the public will be less inclined to support these efforts. Originality/value – This study examines the perceptions and understandings of the term by the general public representing different generations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wagenknecht ◽  
René Filpe ◽  
Christof Weinhardt

Purpose Employees demand high responsibility and empowerment, while keeping their work communal and flexible. Initiatives that foster organizational participation (OP) can contribute to the fulfillment of such work conditions. Research in sociology and psychology demonstrated positive effects on job satisfaction as well as on productivity. However, adoption of social software is widely spread in firms, research on the determinants of computer-supported OP is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the elements to consider when designing OP processes that aim to be beneficial for both the employer as well as the employees. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 20 guided expert interviews to propose a nascent design theory, following a socio-technical approach that promotes democratic and humanistic principles. Findings Building on the expert interview, the process model includes a topic horizon and a collaboration phase, which creates proposals that have to be decided in order to produce results. The authors show how employee competence and leadership commitment are as important as the workload and support as well as an option for anonymous communication. The authors propose a set of features and explain principles of implementation. Research limitations/implications Despite the authors’ best efforts to diversify the authors’ set of experts, the findings have a limited generalizability as the authors only interviewed a few selected German experts that were either members of the board, HR or IT managers, often concerned with organizing rather than only participating in computer-supported organizational participation (CSOP) processes. Besides testing the model in practise, future research should also consider surveying a broader (and more international) set of employers and employees. Practical implications The authors propose a step-by-step procedure to introduce CSOP. Despite identifying many pitfalls, the research demonstrates that CSOP promises a wide variety of benefits to both employers as well as the employees of an organization, including increased satisfaction as well as productivity. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to propose a nascent design theory for CSOP. The authors derive a number of requirements to consider when implementing an information management system that seeks to improve both the efficiency and equality of employers and employees and lead to a win-win situation for both. The authors describe valid constructs for firms with spatially and timely dispersed teams and more than 50 employees. The research is based on 20 expert interviews, conducted with senior managers of medium and large German enterprises.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ebekozien ◽  
Okechukwu Saviour Dominic Duru ◽  
Okhatie Emmanuel Dako

Purpose The recent COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the declining conditions of many of the hospital buildings, especially in developing countries. Past studies have shown inadequate maintenance practices but how far regarding Nigerian public hospital buildings is yet to receive empirical research. This paper aims to investigate the underlying issues leading to inadequate maintenance practices and proffers policy options to improve Nigerian public hospital buildings via an unexplored dimension. Design/methodology/approach The study used a mixed research design method involving both qualitative and quantitative data. First, results from the qualitative phase were analysed and verified at the quantitative phase through a well-structured questionnaire, developed from the qualitative findings across hospital maintenance experts (work/maintenance department, health-care provider, design team and health-care building/service contractor) in Abuja, Lagos and Benin City. Findings Insufficient funds for maintenance works, absence of planned maintenance programmes, inadequately trained personnel, etc., emerged as the maintenance inadequacies in the public hospital buildings across the cities covered. The paper categorised the cause of inadequate maintenance practices of public hospital buildings into six groups: statutory requirements, design stage, construction stage, budget for maintenance task, managing maintenance unit activities and user’s perception regarding maintenance management. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to maintenance practices of Nigerian public hospital buildings. Future research is needed to evaluate factors that will enhance outsourcing maintenance and the use of the 4th industrial revolution (building information modelling for refurbishment and building automation systems) amongst others in maintenance practices of public hospital buildings. Practical implications As part of the practical implication, the government and hospital administrators should make provision for adequate funding and accountability of annual maintenance budgetary allocation. Also, the government should establish a national maintenance policy for public infrastructure with an emphasis on preventive maintenance and contractor’s reputation, outstanding pedigree, technical and financial soundness during build maintenance contract award, etc., were recommended. Originality/value This paper reveals that the stakeholders, especially hospital administrators, policymakers and political office holders that are concern with maintenance budget, approval and disbursement concerning maintenance practices in public hospital buildings need to reawaken to her responsibility because of the inadequate implementation across the cities covered.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-260
Author(s):  
Subaskar Charles ◽  
Herath Vidyaratne ◽  
Damithri Gayashini Melagoda

Purpose Green roofs are acknowledged as a method to substitute greenery washed out by the urbanization. They provide many ecological and sustainable benefits of greenery; reduce the adverse effects of high-rise building constructions. Though this concept is more popular across many countries over the past few decades, still, implementation of this technology in Sri Lanka is new and scant. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the potential of green roofs in high-rise buildings in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach The data collection was conducted through expert interviews and questionnaire survey. Expert interviews were carried out to validate the prospects and restraints identified through literature review to the Sri Lankan context and analyzed using content analysis. Questionnaire survey identified the most significant prospects and restraints using descriptive statistics and paired sample t-test. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. Findings Reduction of air pollution, aesthetical appearance, thermal benefits and energy savings, reduction of an urban heat island effect, the addition of points in the green rating system are the top most significant prospects that need to be highlighted in promoting green roof systems in Sri Lankan high rises. Less space allocation on rooftops, lack of technical competence and lack of awareness and research are restraints that need most effective elimination strategies to encourage green roof systems. Originality/value The first identified and quantified prospects and restraints for green roof system in Sri Lankan high-rise buildings can be utilized by the government, donors, multi-lateral agencies to promote the sustainable development in Sri Lanka and this knowledge could be used in different scale awareness programs. The value of this paper is such that the paper discusses the links of green roofs with the other facets of sustainability. The new legal reforms and amendments in Sri Lanka could potentially be pending with findings of this study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Shi ◽  
Feng Li ◽  
Pattarin Chumnumpan

Purpose As a frequently observed business phenomenon, the use of product scarcity to improve a product’s market performance has received increasing attention from both academics and practitioners. The resulting literature has covered a wide variety of issues based on various theories, using different research methods, in a diverse range of settings. However, this diversity also makes it difficult to grasp the core themes and findings, and to see the outstanding knowledge gaps. This paper aims to review previous studies on the use of product scarcity in marketing and identifies new directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted to identify and analyse 66 research papers published in business and management journals between 1970 and 2017. Findings The authors examined the underlying theories of scarcity-based marketing, and developed a conceptual framework that describes the key factors of product scarcity and how they influence both consumers and the market. They also highlighted some key achievements in modelling the processes involved in using product scarcity in marketing. Originality/value This analysis of the identified papers suggests that there are substantial gaps in our knowledge of this field, which opens up new paths for future research. For future research, the authors identified three directions aimed at: addressing the practical needs of firms in understanding product scarcity; guiding the implementation of scarcity-based strategies; and measuring, monitoring and predicting the level of product scarcity and its impacts during implementation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-125
Author(s):  
Linden Dalecki

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide a general review of the existing academic and practitioner literatures, pertaining to entrepreneurial selling with a view to articulate major entrepreneurial selling practices, patterns and principles that lead to entrepreneurial success and to propose two four-quadrant matrices. Design/methodology/approach The paper explores commonalities and distinctions in the entrepreneurial selling concepts articulated by Deutsch and Wortmann and Onyemah and Rivera-Pesquera – and relevant writings by Blank as well as Sarasvathy – are explored and analyzed. Findings It was found that the early stage entrepreneurial selling activities of founders – as a means of gleaning prospective customer feedback for product prototyping – form the core of contemporary entrepreneurial selling conceptualizations. Two provisional four-quadrant entrepreneurial selling matrices are proposed corresponding to the literature reviewed. Research limitations/implications It is hoped that the two four-quadrant matrices might serve as a springboard for future researchers interested in exploring entrepreneurial selling. The notion of preliminary selling as a valuable form of marketing research is also worthy of future research. Practical implications Given the extent to which the perspectives of entrepreneurship practitioners, clinical professors and consultants are cited and explored, manifold aspects of entrepreneurial selling are put forth. The various approaches to preliminary selling that are explored are of especially high value to practitioners. Originality/value This is the first paper to fully explore the commonalities and distinctions across the entrepreneurial selling conceptualizations developed by Deutsch and Wortmann, as well as by Onyemah and Rivera-Pesquera, and the first to propose a conceptual framework focused specifically on entrepreneurial selling.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Shnyrkova ◽  
Marina Predvoditeleva

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify Halal hotel attributes demanded by the Russian Muslim travelers. Following this, the study aims to investigate whether gender and types of travelers influence the demand for Halal hotel attributes. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted to localize the list of Halal hotel attributes for the Russian business context. A self-administrated online questionnaire was designed, distributed and collected from 191 Russian Muslim customers, who have stayed at Halal hotels in the past 12 months. Data analysis includes a t-test and analysis of variance. Findings The study revealed a list of Halal attributes demanded by Russian Muslim customers. Also, the findings indicate that the list of the attributes demonstrated the differences in the requested attributes between gender and types of travelers. Research limitations/implications The study came across three main limitations. The first was that the respondents surveyed were leisure tourists. Second, the majority of the respondents have university degrees. Third, the research sample is limited to approximately 200 respondents. This research primarily contributes to tourism and hospitality management, and consumer behavior literature, as this is the first study yielding insights on a new demographic: Russian Muslim tourists. Practical implications The study provides a clear understanding of the Halal hotel attributes demanded by Russian Muslims that can help hotel managers to accommodate the needs of this group while, at the same time, meeting the requirements of guests of different religions. Social implications The study contributes to improving social relationships within the Russian Federation as it improves society’s understanding of the life principles of Muslims. Originality/value This is the first study investigating the demand for Halal attributes by Russian Muslim tourists. By partly covering the empty research field on this topic, the study provides meaningful direction to future research of the Russian hotels’ Halal services from both supply and demand perspectives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadi A. Fatayer ◽  
Mohammad A. Hassanain ◽  
Abdullatif Abdallah ◽  
Abdul-Mohsen Al-Hammad

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the current practices of the early facilities management (FM) involvement during the design development and review stages (DDRS), and recommend activities aimed at achieving better integration.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review was conducted to ascertain the challenges faced by the integrated design team (IDT) in the absence of the facilities managers’ review of design solutions, and underscore the significance of the early involvement of facilities managers during the DDRS. A questionnaire survey was then developed for collecting data on eight aspects of the current practices of early FM involvement during the DDRS. The questionnaire survey was administered to the FM departments of 13 long established, public universities in Saudi Arabia. Ten responses were obtained and analyzed.FindingsThe findings suggest that the early involvement of the FM department enhances the operation and maintenance of facilities. This has been measured through reductions in the number of architectural, structural, electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning defects.Practical implicationsRecommendations were provided to facilitate the process of integrating the practices of two influential stakeholders of building projects. These recommendations encompass the need for maintainability considerations at the early schematic stage, the necessity of direct contact between the two parties and the necessity of facility managers’ increased familiarity of the design stage activities, among other recommendations. In this way, the study promotes the awareness of the significance of integrating FM with the IDT at the DDRS.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature and practice by presenting a detailed analysis of the integration process between the FM department and the IDT. Furthermore, the outcomes of the integration between the parties were measured to assess the effectiveness of the collaboration and highlight the possible areas of improvement.


Author(s):  
Shweta Bajaj ◽  
Ruchi Garg ◽  
Monika Sethi

Purpose Due to its impact on business performance total quality management (TQM) has gained a lot of importance by businessmen, managers, practitioners, and research scholars over the last 20 years. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically assess the literature on TQM and find out the areas where future research is required. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this purpose the articles published in the last 20 years were studied in a systematic way and a snapshot of the same was prepared in the tabular format with points such as year and journal of publication, application and country, statistical method used, and findings of the study such as practices and impact of TQM. After identifying the practices and impact of TQM a quality tool “Pareto Analysis” was applied on them for development of the model. Findings The findings provide the practices of TQM and its impact on the performance of a business. The gaps from the literature have been identified and areas for future research have been suggested. On the basis of the findings a generalized framework of TQM has been suggested which can be applicable irrespective of the sector. Practical implications The research will help academicians and future researchers to have a clear understanding of TQM in different rosters. Originality/value Ample literature is available on TQM but in the best knowledge of authors no study has taken place to integrate the reviews and findings of 102 research papers of the last two decades.


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