Optimization of the supplier selection process in prefabrication using BIM

Prefabrication offers substantial benefits including reduction in construction waste, material waste, energy use, labor demands, and delivery time, and an improvement in project constructability and cost certainty. As the material cost accounts for nearly 70% of the total cost of the prefabrication project, to select a suitable material supplier plays an important role in such a project. The purpose of this study is to present a method for supporting supplier selection of a prefabrication project. The proposed method consists of three parts. First, a list of assessment criteria was established to evaluate the suitability of supplier alternatives. Second, Building Information Modelling (BIM) was adopted to provide sufficient information about the project requirements and suppliers’ profiles, which facilitates the storage and sharing of information. Finally, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank the importance of the assessment criteria and obtain the score of supplier alternatives. The suppliers were ranked based on the total scores. To illustrate how to use the proposed method, it was applied to a real prefabrication project. The proposed method facilitates the supplier selection process by providing sufficient information in an effective way and by improving the understanding of the project requirements

A knowledge chain framework for construction supply chains

Construction is a project-based industry and construction supply chains generally work with a unique product in every project. Commonly, project organizations are reconfigured for each project. This means that construction supply chains are characterised by various practices and disjointed relationships, with the result that construction supply chain actors generally have transient relationships rather than long term risk sharing partnerships. A consequence of this is the lack of trust between construction clients, designers, main contractors and suppliers. Because the construction supply chain works as a disparate collection of separate organisations rather than as a unified team, the supply chain suffers from lack of integration. Knowledge flow in construction supply chains are hindered due to the reasons such as inadequate adaptation to collaborative procurement type projects, inadequate collaboration between the downstream and upstream supply chain, lack of interoperability of the design tools, lack of well structured SCM process and lack of well developed knowledge management applications. These characteristics of the construction supply chains are the main reasons for its low efficiency and productivity in project delivery. There is a need for the development of appropriate systems to ensure the effective diffusion of knowledge such that each actor of the supply chain adds value to the project delivery process. This is expected to result in the creation of knowledge chains in construction. It is believed that construction supply chain management (SCM), when integrated with knowledge management (KM), can successfully address the major problems of the industry The main aim of this research was to develop a framework to transform construction supply chains into knowledge chains . To reach this aim, the research first provided an overview of practices and issues in SCM across a range of industry sectors including construction, aerospace, and automotive industries. It discusses research and developments in the field of SCM and KM in construction industry, the key SCM issues with a knowledge flow focus, and the best practices from other industries to improve the construction supply chains. Furthermore, the results of the company specific and project specific case studies conducted in aerospace and construction industry supply chains are presented. These results include the key SC problems, key issues related to knowledge flow and the presentation of knowledge requirements of each supply chain actor. Following the data analysis process, a framework to transform the construction supply chain into a knowledge chain taking full cognisance of both the technical and social aspects of KM was presented. The main purpose of the knowledge chain framework was to enable construction bid managers/project managers to plan and manage the project knowledge flow in the supply chain and organise activities, meetings and tasks to improve SCM and KM throughout the supply chain in an integrated procurement type (PFI) project life cycle. The knowledge chain framework was intended to depict the knowledge flow in the construction supply chain specifically, and to offer guidance for specific business processes to transform the supply chains into knowledge chains. Finally, this research focused on the evaluation of the framework through industry practitioners and researchers. An evaluation of the Framework was conducted via workshop followed by a questionnaire comprising industry experts. The findings indicated that adoption of the Framework in construction project lifecycle could contribute towards more efficient and effective management of knowledge flow, standardisation and integration of SCM and KM processes, better coordination and integration of the SC, improved consistency and visibility of the processes, and successful delivery of strategic projects. The overall research process contributed the construction research in many perspectives such as introduction of knowledge chain concept for construction supply chains; comparative analysis of the SCM practices in different industry sectors, identification of best practices for construction supply chains, better demonstration of the maturity level and critical factors of the SCM within the construction industry, demonstration of the KC framework which integrates the supply chain process and knowledge sharing within a single framework which covers all the recent trends in the construction industry like collaborative procurement route projects, creation of better integrated SCs, applications like off site construction and BIM where all supply chain management and knowledge management should take place

A Tactical Demand-Supply Planning Framework to manage ‎‎Complexity in Engineer-to-Order Environments: Insights from an in-‎‎depth ‎case study

The challenging demand-supply balancing in engineer-to-order (ETO) environments\ua0is often attributed to complexity. This study expands the understanding of managing\ua0complexity to obtain demand-supply balancing, focusing on the tactical planning\ua0logic of the order fulfilment process. An in-depth single case study was conducted\ua0and data describing the order fulfilment process at a construction company were\ua0collected and analysed. Findings suggest a tactical-level planning process framework,\ua0incorporating nine key decisions and three crucial activities, and their potential\ua0complexity-reducing and complexity-absorbing impact. The study contributes to the\ua0theoretical discussion of complexity in management practices, linking demandsupply\ua0balancing as a performance measure. The findings guide practitioners in ETO\ua0settings on anticipating potential medium-term consequences of key decisions on\ua0capacity. This emphasises the need of proper IT support to apply knowledge\ua0generated from previous projects and conduct comprehensive and robust scenariobased\ua0analyses

Performance-Based Specifications: Exploring When They Work and Why

There is extensive research and attention on innovation and sustainable public procurement (SPP) in the European Union at present, with the 2014 revision of the Procurement Directives, the Innovation Union strategy and other European Union policy initiatives. This report seeks to contribute to this discussion through the investigation of the use of performance based specifications (PBSs) in public procurement in the European Union and the United States. The report outlines the benefits and limitations of the use of PBSs, even in the most "progressive" public procurement environments, such as the Netherlands, particularly around their ability to support sustainable development goals and deliver environmental benefits for a procuring authority, such as energy and resource efficiency. Additionally, this report aims to identify the sectors in which the enabling conditions for the successful use of PBSs in public procurement are in place and to understand what policies and regulations are needed to promote the use of PBSs in public tenders and public procurement framework agreements

The Utilization of Building Information Modeling in Computer-Controlled Automatic Construction: Case Study of a Six-Room Wooden House

In the current context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is belatedly providing the construction industry with a tool to reach higher levels of efficiency, quality and convenience. However, human errors in both management and construction job site control may cause a construction project to go over budget or behind schedule. Lastly, a construction project requires the collaboration of various parties to achieve the end goals of the various stakeholders. BIM provides one method of integrating the whole process of sharing information between those parties. Extensions to the current BIM methods may allow machines, such as construction robots to take over some of the human tasks. The aim of this study is to study future methods to reduce the human effort in construction and to improve the cost efficiency and quality for construction projects. In this thesis to look to integrate the construction processes of design, manufacture, shipment and installation and using data extracted from a BIM model, a conceptual computer-controlled, automatic construction process is developed for a pseudo robot. The pseudo robot is merely a development tool to look at the development of the conceptual phases for a real robot. Meanwhile, following the Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA) management cycle, the workflow of the process is designed in pseudocode. A case study of a six-room wooden house is used to illustrate the function of the automatic construction system and to verify that which information can be provided by BIM. Location control is identified in the study as the key criterion for attempting robotic construction. An object positioning solution of using a laser technique is suggested from this research. The results show that the program provides adequate information to allow the completion of the construction process. A two-level method is developed for accurate positioning of building components. Further research may focus on more complicated and special projects, more effective and accurate sensing and tracking technology

Cost overrun causality model in Saudi Arabian public sector construction projects.

Construction performance in Saudi public projects has been poor over the years, with 70% of projects considered as failures and costing the country over 1 trillion SAR (over £202 billion) between 2005 and 2015. The project delivery mechanism used to deliver construction projects is one of the main reasons for such poor performance, as all service providers (consultant, designer, and contractor) are chosen based on the lowest price. The contract evaluation shows that contractors hold most of a project's risks and suffer a cost overrun problem, thereby positioning them as the weakest link in the procurement chain. This study aims to develop a contractors' cost overrun causality model in the Saudi public sector. A systematic literature review was performed and revealed three schools of thought regarding the investigation and identification of cost overrun causes. However, none of the three schools has addressed the limitations of exploring the interaction between any causes identified and then linking root causes with a direct cause, nor including the effects of the context and the process that are used to develop construction projects. Exploring the interaction between causes is important, because the construction projects covered within the literature involved different stakeholders at different phases in a project's lifecycle. Moreover, it has been found that the amount and the causes of cost overrun are different based on the project's location. After the systematic literature review, this study aimed to develop a contractors' cost overrun causality model in the Saudi public sector, which would consider the effects of context, practices and processes of developing construction projects. Specifically, the research explored the commercial context of Saudi public construction project procurement under four major portfolios (economy, business, resources and regulation). Additionally, the research explored the processes and practices that are used to develop construction projects in the sector, based on the Porter model (diamond) and institutional theory. This thesis establishes the link between the commercial context and contractors' performance. Based on the systematic literature review and interviews, the causalities of cost overrun in Saudi Arabian construction projects were critically reviewed, established, classified and evaluated. The data created a "causes pool", with over two-hundred causes - these were then filtered through various means, resulting in forty-nine remaining causes. The study explores the relationship between these causes in order to create "causal paths" and, eventually, the overall model. The model-building process and the resultant outputs were reviewed by two industry experts, resulting in further refinement and simplification of the model. The final model contains forty-nine causal chains that have each been thoroughly explained. The nature of the problem investigated required this research to adopt a pragmatic and abductive approach in order to achieve its objectives. The main methodologies used were systematic literature review, case study, interviews, and project documentation. The research emphasises the importance of investigating the context and project-development process. In fact, by comparing Saudi public sector practices to established best practices, the study found that causal chains were triggered and contributed to by weaknesses within the context, process, and practices, which occur in the early stage of a project's lifecycle. However, it is established that only direct causes occur during the construction phase. Moreover, the results confirm that the current environment, regulation, practices, and behaviours of the Saudi public sector increase the risks of projects failing and damaging the construction industry. Therefore, based on the findings of the research, this thesis recommends that the Saudi public agency should: 1) adopt a project delivery approach that reduces the fragmentation in delivering a construction project, and which is tailored to the project context and characteristics; 2) adopt a new method to finance construction projects that is less affected by fluctuations in the oil economy; 3) build a long-term relationship with service providers (designers, consultants, and contractors) that is built on trust, sharing of information, and lesson learning and improvement; 4) adopt a new contract that is based on fair risk appropriation, where the risk transfer is to the most suitable party to effectively manage that risk; 5) generate general regulations and laws that transform the construction industry so as to be less affected by the external environment, more controlled by all the involved parties, and in which it becomes more attractive to invest

An agent approach to improving radio frequency identification enabled Returnable Transport Equipment

Returnable transport equipment (RTE) such as pallets form an integral part of the supply chain and poor management leads to costly losses. Companies often address this matter by outsourcing the management of RTE to logistics service providers (LSPs). LSPs are faced with the task to provide logistical expertise to reduce RTE related waste, whilst differentiating their own services to remain competitive. In the current challenging economic climate, the role of the LSP to deliver innovative ways to achieve competitive advantage has never been so important. It is reported that radio frequency identification (RFID) application to RTE enables LSPs such as DHL to gain competitive advantage and offer clients improvements such as loss reduction, process efficiency improvement and effective security. However, the increased visibility and functionality of RFID enabled RTE requires further investigation in regards to decision‐making. The distributed nature of the RTE network favours a decentralised decision‐making format. Agents are an effective way to represent objects from the bottom‐up, capturing the behaviour and enabling localised decision‐making. Therefore, an agent based system is proposed to represent the RTE network and utilise the visibility and data gathered from RFID tags. Two types of agents are developed in order to represent the trucks and RTE, which have bespoke rules and algorithms in order to facilitate negotiations. The aim is to create schedules, which integrate RTE pick‐ups as the trucks go back to the depot. The findings assert that: - agent based modelling provides an autonomous tool, which is effective in modelling RFID enabled RTE in a decentralised utilising the real‐time data facility. ‐ the RFID enabled RTE model developed enables autonomous agent interaction, which leads to a feasible schedule integrating both forward and reverse flows for each RTE batch. ‐ the RTE agent scheduling algorithm developed promotes the utilisation of RTE by including an automatic return flow for each batch of RTE, whilst considering the fleet costs andutilisation rates. ‐ the research conducted contributes an agent based platform, which LSPs can use in order to assess the most appropriate strategies to implement for RTE network improvement for each of their clients

Public procurement and manufacturing diversification in Oman

This report assesses the potential for Oman to utilize public procurement to support its development strategy in the short and medium-long term. It first looks at the trends and challenges in Oman’s industrial development, before focusing on the current public procurement Tender Law. The report then identifies options for deploying public procurement law and policy to promote industrial diversification in priority manufacturing sectors; innovation and small and medium sized enterprises. It concludes with a summary of the main findings

Updating the Bridge Construction Cost Database

Adopting a comprehensive suite of methods to track, analyze, and maintain data on bridge construction costs can help state transportation agencies identify and implement strategies to mitigate the influence of factors which escalate project costs. This report discusses how the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) should approach updating, maintaining, and analyzing its bridge construction cost data. Based on a review of practices introduced at other agencies and interviews with public and private industry stakeholders, the report catalogues practical strategies for improving estimating procedures and tracking cost data as well as the most important cost drivers of bridge construction. Analysis of KYTC data on average unit bid prices for eight key bid items on bridge projects found that prices went up for every item between 2015 and 2021. Steel reinforcement and epoxy coated steel reinforcement displayed the most consistent linear upward trend, while greater variability was noticeable in prices for Class A and AA concrete and foundation preparation. This analysis substantiated observations by interviewees that contractors submit higher bid prices when they perceive greater risk associated with a work item. Recommendations for process improvements at the Cabinet focus on agencywide rollout of AASHTOWare Estimation, conducting post-construction reviews, establishing contract durations that reasonably accommodate the completion of all work, and performing more in-depth geotechnical investigations

Productive Development Policies and Supporting Institutions in Latin America and The Caribbean

This paper examines the evolution of productive development policies in Latin America in the last half century, with an emphasis on the post-reform period. The paper begins with a review of the import-substitution era and goes on to describe and make a preliminary assessment of the meaning and implications of productive development policies in the liberalization period.