scholarly journals Community interventions in construction health and safety and the implications

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nnedinma Umeokafor
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Community Intervention ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Community Interventions ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Consideration ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the involvement of communities – geographical or geopolitical units, which identifies culture, interest and ethnicity – in construction health and safety (H&S) and the implications. This stems from the unexamined hence poorly understood roles of many stakeholders in the construction H&S management and regulatory regime in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachInterviews with contractors and key informants and a survey of contractors were conducted. Descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic analysis were used.FindingsThere is evidences of community interventions: negotiating with contractors on H&S issues; strongly stipulating that H&S measures are adopted and implemented; and enforcing H&S through both violent and non-violent means. These have no legal backing. There is a relationship between the locations of the projects, urban area and rural area, and six community intervention variables. The study also reveals that among the implications of community interventions in H&S are contractors contextualising H&S in these communities and the tension between parties in construction projects. Again, there is a relationship between the location of the projects and six of the implications including the tension between communities and contractors and between contractors and clients.Practical implicationsIn adequately addressing construction safety, health and environment issues in Nigeria, geographic location and socio-cultural consideration are pertinent, a point for policymakers, communities and contractors.Originality/valueThe study draws attention to the geographic location and socio-cultural explanations for the differences in the H&S management, performance and attitudes of contractors in Nigeria. This is the first study that examines the involvement of communities in H&S and the implications.

SFC reminding sponsors of the need to adopt an attitude of “professional scepticism”

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-84
Author(s):  
Gareth Hughes ◽  
James Comber
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Group Company ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Skepticism ◽  
Company Limited ◽  
A Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Do So

Purpose To remind sponsors to adopt an attitude of “professional skepticism” in Hong Kong IPOs. Design/methodology/approach Explains the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”)'s sanction on BOCOM International (Asia) Limited (“BIAL”) as a sign of determination to hold sponsors to account as gatekeepers to the Hong Kong capital markets. Findings The SFC has reprimanded and fined BIAL HK$15 million for failing to discharge its duties as a sole sponsor in a listing application for China Huinong Capital Group Company Limited (“China Huinong”), a company established in the PRC. This substantial fine reinforces the need for sponsors to ensure that they fully and properly discharge all of their duties, and that they will be held responsible for any failure to do so, even if the listing is not ultimately approved. Practical implications If sponsors fail to fulfil the requirements required under the sponsors’ regulatory regime, the SFC will be proactive and impose tough sanctions, even if the listing application is eventually withdrawn or returned by the SEHK. Originality/value Practical guidance from experienced regulatory, financial and commercial dispute resolution lawyers.

CFTC overhauls customer protection requirements

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Commodity Futures ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Futures Trading ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Response ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to summarize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) recent overhaul of its customer protection rules, which regulate how futures commission merchants (FCMs) and derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs) handle customer funds. Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarizes the most significant aspects of the CFTC's October 30, 2013 customer protection rulemaking, explains FCM and DCO obligations under the new regulatory regime, and sets forth a compliance timeline. Findings – The CFTC's recent overhaul of its customer protection rules impose significant new requirements on FCMs and DCOs in their handling of customer funds. Practical implications – All FCMs and DCOs that handle customer funds should review these new rules and begin putting into place policies and procedures to ensure their compliance as each new requirement comes into effect. Originality/value – The CFTC's overhaul of its customer protection regime is new and significant. FCMs and DCOs need to understand their new obligations under the rules. As these new rules are the CFTC's regulatory response to the events that led to the insolvencies of MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group, these developments also should be of interest to futures and swaps market participants generally.

Bonding capability of Nigerian contracting firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Legal Capacity ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Past Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Strength ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The ability of construction contractors to engage in construction bond agreement with guarantors depends on capital, experience, capacity and continuity. Using these criteria, the purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the bonding capacity of Nigerian contractors. Design/methodology/approach Factors required for bonding were examined based on a set of questions addressed to managers of contracting firms and personnel involved in issuing bonds and guarantees in commercial banks and insurance companies. The scorecard approach was employed to determine the bonding capability of the contractors. Findings Contractors’ financial strength and past performance on previous projects are the two important factors considered by guarantors in granting bond to contractors. However, the condition surrounding the bond, the legal capacity of the guarantor to issue bond and the identity of the guarantor are mostly considered by contractors in approaching a potential guarantor. Using the scorecard approach, about one-third of contractors have the necessary requirements to engage in construction bond agreement with guarantors. This ability of contractors is affected by years of experience of the firm but not by their location nor years of experience of their manager. Practical implications It is necessary for contracting firms to increase their capital base through merging, borrowing, etc., and also engage experienced professionals and workers in the execution of construction projects, as this will eventually improve their bonding ability. Social implications The study is limited to construction contractors registered with Ondo and Lagos State Governments and guarantors that are banks and insurance companies in Nigeria. Originality/value The paper specified various areas of concerns for Nigerian contracting firms in their bid to enhance their bonding ability. This will help them in overcoming various challenges and bottlenecks that may arise in securing bonds and guarantees from guarantors.

Collaboration strategy selection in BIM-enabled construction projects: a perspective through typical collaboration profiles

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangchong Chen ◽  
Jiayu Chen ◽  
Yuchun Tang ◽  
Yan Ning ◽  
Qiming Li
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Strategy Selection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Collaborative Behavior ◽  
Selection Framework ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeCollaboration is essential to BIM-enabled construction projects (BECPs). To facilitate collaboration, various strategies have been proposed. Usually, project team adopts single collaboration strategy for convenience. However, BIM-based collaboration is rather dynamic and exposed to a lot of barriers and risks, which easily changes collaboration conditions among partners. Therefore, better understanding of collaboration conditions in BECPs is crucial to develop flexible and suitable strategies. To fill in the gap, this study intends to identify typical collaboration profiles in BECPs and develop a profile-oriented strategy selection framework.Design/methodology/approachThis study establishes a six-dimensional collaborative behavior matric based on a comprehensive literature review to profile collaboration. Then a questionnaire survey is conducted to collect the collaboration data from 162 BECPs in China. Finally, latent profile analysis (LPA) is utilized to identify the typical collaboration profiles in BECPs.FindingsThrough LPA, four profiles are identified, including restricted collaboration profile, smarmy collaboration profile, intuitive collaboration profile, and modest collaboration profile. A profile-oriented strategy selection framework is also established to match strategies with collaboration profiles. Two major categories of strategies are proposed to promote these collaboration profiles including trust building and elevating strategies and collaborative behaviors facilitating strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThese identified profiles can provide an insightful understanding on the diversified collaboration conditions in BECPs.Practical implicationsThe profile-oriented strategy selection framework will help managers develop strategies flexibly to promote collaboration in BECPs.Originality/valueThis study validates four typical collaboration profiles in BECPs. Moreover, a profile-oriented strategy selection framework is also established for collaboration facilitation in BECPs.

Proposal of a temporality perspective for a successful organizational change project

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wafa Boulagouas ◽  
Rachid Chaib ◽  
Mebarek Djebabra
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Change Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Change Implementation ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Industrial Company

PurposeImprovements to health and safety at work constantly involve organizational changes (OCs). However, the OC initiatives often fail at achieving their intended goals despite efforts to draw knowledge from various disciplines, such as sociology, psychology and information sciences, to guide the change implementation. This paper proposes a temporality approach to manage the resistance during an OC project based on the capitalization of the actors' behaviors (i.e. alignment/resistance) for successful OC implementation.Design/methodology/approachEmployees in an industrial company (N = 186) undergoing an OC answered a questionnaire survey. The statistical analysis approach was used to measure the influence of the constructs of the proposed temporality capitalization approach on the OC conduct.FindingsResults indicate that the considered constructs have positive and significant correlations with OC development. It has also been found that the employees' alignment is highly correlated with the opportunities they might gain from the OC.Practical implicationsThe proposed temporality capitalization approach shows that providing the employees with clear objectives is not sufficient to support the change, and it is suggested that the change management has to move a step further and seek to target the perspectives of the employees to energize them around the OC and maximize their alignment.Originality/valueIn this paper, change management is approached through the temporality capitalization that confirms the importance of monitoring the change development through the alignment. In other terms, the curve of the adaptation of the change receivers matters and should attract more attention rather than the change implementation speed.

Quantifying costs of the productivity loss due to schedule changes in construction projects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Seob Lee
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Impact ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Lost Productivity ◽  
Change Order ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to develop a method to integrate the schedule-based analysis with a productivity-based analysis to prove and support the result of the damages calculation.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, a “cost and schedule impact integration” (CSI2) model is proposed to objectively show and estimate lost productivity due to changes in construction projects.FindingsA schedule-based analysis to include separate tracking of change order costs can be used to predict productivity due to the delay and disruption; changes in construction projects almost always result in delay and disruption. However, the schedule-based analysis needs to be integrated with a productivity-based analysis to prove and support the result of the damages calculation.Practical implicationsThe results of this study expand upon construction practices for proving and quantifying lost productivity due to changes in construction projects.Originality/valueThe contribution of the paper is summarized as the introduction of a “schedule impact analysis” into a “cost impact analysis” technique to assess the damages, as well as to demonstrate the labor productivity impact due to delay and disruption in construction projects.

Job attitudes differ among unionised and non-unionised workers

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-29
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Job Attitudes ◽  
Pay Equity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fair Treatment ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Findings show that unionized employees perceive less manager–employee consultation, health and safety, dispensability, time flexibility, workload flexibility, managerial trust, fair treatment, and pay equity. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals An appraisal of the barriers to client involvement in health and safety in Nigeria’s construction industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nnedinma Umeokafor
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Client Involvement ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that identified and assessed the barriers to client involvement in health and safety (H&S) in the Nigerian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of literature review and a pilot study, structured questionnaires were designed and administered to clients and their representatives in ongoing construction projects in Nigeria. Descriptive and inferential statistics were then adopted while analysing the data. Findings The research reveals that the major barriers to client involvement in H&S in Nigeria’s construction industry focus on the gaps created by lack of H&S legislation in specifying client roles and responsibilities in H&S, trust and confidence in the supply chain, low levels of awareness at various levels, procurement issues, the attitudes of the various members of the project team and resource-related issues. In total, 20 barriers to client involvement in H&S were identified and assessed. Practical implications Policy makers will find the study beneficial as it provides a good understanding of the issues to address while making policies that seek to involve the client in H&S in Nigeria. Originality/value While the findings offer insight on the barriers to client involvement in H&S in Nigeria’s construction industry, the study also contributes to the discourse in developing countries. The paper recommends transparent steps in procurement, H&S legislation that factors in economic incentives and community and financial institutions contributions to involving clients in H&S. The study is the first attempt to investigate the barriers to client involvement in construction H&S in Nigeria, contributing to the dearth of H&S literature in Nigeria.

scholarly journals The demographics of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities: findings from a national database

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Rachael Clawson ◽  
Anne Patterson ◽  
Rachel Fyson ◽  
Michelle McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
National Database ◽  
Forced Marriage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the UK demographics of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities and people without learning disabilities to inform effective safeguarding practice. Design/methodology/approach An analysis of all cases of forced marriage reported to the UK Government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) between 2009 and 2015. Findings People with learning disabilities are at five times greater risk of forced marriage than people without learning disabilities. Men and women with learning disabilities are equally likely to be forced to marry, whereas amongst the general population, women are more likely than men to be forced to marry. Patterns of ethnicity, geographic location within the UK and reporters are the same for people with and without learning disabilities. Research limitations/implications The analysis is based on cases reported to the FMU, and for some cases, data held was incomplete. More importantly, many cases go unreported and so the FMU data does not necessarily reflect all cases of forced marriage in the UK. Practical implications Forced marriage of people with learning disabilities is a safeguarding issue. Practitioners across health, education, criminal justice and social care need to better understand the risk of forced marriage for people with learning disabilities. Links to practice resources developed as part of the wider project are provided. Originality/value This is the first time that researchers have been given access to FMU data and the first time that a statistical analysis of cases of forced marriage involving someone with a learning disability have been analysed.

The collapse of unlisted mortgage companies: a regulatory dilemma

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (01) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Monica Keneley ◽  
Graeme Wines ◽  
Ameeta Jain
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Regulatory Change ◽  
Shadow Banking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Mortgage Finance ◽  
Regulatory Approach ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Policy issues associated with the regulation of the unlisted debenture market have been highlighted in recent times with the collapse of a number of regionally based mortgage companies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the decline and demise of the unlisted debenture market between 2007-2013 with particular reference to the effectiveness of the regulatory regime in stabilising the industry and protecting investors’ interests. Design/methodology/approach A database was constructed which reflected the total population of unlisted mortgage companies in the financial sector. A snapshot approach was used to assess the extent to which these companies complied with regulatory provisions. Findings Findings suggest the regulatory process allowed these companies to continue operating despite not complying with the relevant Australian Securities and Investments Commission benchmarks. In the light of the current inquiry into the financial system, the research suggests that a re-evaluation of the regulatory approach is timely. Research limitations/implications This research is restricted to a study of one category of debenture issuers (issuers of mortgage finance). It is based on reports required by regulatory authorities. It does not provide an analysis of the motivations of investors in these companies. Practical/implications This research has implications for the implementation of regulatory change in respect to oversight of shadow banking activities. It suggested that a passive approach to regulation is not sufficient to ensure that the interests of investors are fully protected. Originality/value No prior research has systematically examined the unlisted mortgage and analysed the borrowing and lending activities of companies that have failed and those that have survived.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document