Collaborative multidisciplinary learning : quantity surveying students’ perspectives

The construction industry is highly fragmented and is known for its adversarial culture, culminating in poor quality projects not completed on time or within budget. The aim of this study is thus to guide the design of QS programme curricula in order to help students develop the requisite knowledge and skills to work more collaboratively in their multi-disciplinary future workplaces. A qualitative approach was considered appropriate as the authors were concerned with gathering an initial understanding of what students think of multi-disciplinary learning. The data collection method used was a questionnaire which was developed by the Behaviours4Collaboration (B4C) team. Knowledge gaps were still found across all the key areas where a future QS practitioner needs to be collaborative (either as a project contributor or as a project leader) despite the need for change instigated by the multi-disciplinary (BIM) education revolution. The study concludes that universities will need to be selective in teaching, and innovative in reorienting, QS education so that a collaborative BIM education can be effected in stages, increasing in complexity as the students’ technical knowledge grows. This will help students to build the competencies needed to make them future leaders. It will also support programme currency and delivery

Developing Project Managers’ Transversal Competences Using Building Information Modeling

The emergence of building information modeling (BIM) methodology requires the training of professionals with both specific and transversal skills. In this paper, a project-based learning experience carried out in the context of a project management course at the University of Extremadura is analyzed. To that end, a questionnaire was designed and given to students who participated in the initiative. Results suggest that BIM can be considered a virtual learning environment, from which students value the competences developed. The emotional performance observed was quite flat. Similarly, students valued the usefulness of the initiative. Students expressed a desire for the methodological change of the university classes, and thought that BIM methodology could be useful for other courses. The results obtained show a line of work to be done to improve the training of students and university teaching

Implementation of building information modelling in the Dominican Republic construction industry

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.The Dominican Republic (D.R.) is a Caribbean nation whose construction industry is key in the economic growth and development of the country; however, the productivity of the sector is being affected by inefficient traditional practices. The increased use and proven benefits of Building Information Modelling worldwide suggest that its implementation could be of great help in decreasing current issues in the Dominican construction industry. Nonetheless, there is no empirical work that sets the scene of the implementation of BIM in the country to make suggestions for its implementation. Therefore, this research aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the status of BIM in the D.R. and developing a framework to facilitate its implementation. For this purpose, a review of literature on BIM and emerging concepts, processes and technologies was undertaken. Furthermore, the initiatives and key players of BIM implementation worldwide were studied, which allowed the identification of the critical enabling factors for country-wide BIM implementation. A qualitative approach was adopted to carry out this research. The qualitative inquiry involved semi-structured interviews and was divided into two phases: the preliminary and the main study. In the preliminary study, eleven interviews were conducted with construction organisations to appraise and document BIM awareness and BIM implementation in the Dominican construction industry. In the main study, twenty-eight interviews directed to construction organisations were conducted to attain the same objective. This phase of the study also included interviews directed to professionals involved with the diffusion of BIM knowledge to explore and document the presence of BIM Education in the country, from which eight interviews were carried out. The data was analysed with the method of content analysis. The research concluded that the Dominican Republic is a BIM infant country. Most organisations are not implementing BIM, and current BIM approaches are mainly single-disciplinary, principally in Architecture. Implementation strategies are incomplete, primarily focusing on the provision of training to selected staff. Drivers to implement BIM in the country include BIM benefits, competitive advantage and pressure from external partners. Hitherto, there is only BIM training and different modes of dissemination of BIM knowledge in the country. Nonetheless, efforts to integrate BIM into university curricula were identified. Challenges hindering the implementation of BIM in the country were explored, and initiatives to propel the implementation were proposed. A framework for implementing BIM in the Dominican construction industry was developed and validated to confirm its suitability for the Dominican construction industry. Recommendations for industry practitioners, government, and academics have been put forward. This research contributes to the body of knowledge in the area of country-wide BIM implementation, BIM education, and the implementation of BIM at an organisational level.MESCy

Implementing supply chain partnering in the construction industry

Although much research has been conducted about advantages and challenges for supply chain partnering (SCP) in the construction sector, focus has been mostly on formal aspects of implementation within organizations. Understanding social aspects, however, might be just as crucial to implementation of SCP as understanding managerial and intraorganizational dynamics. Therefore, this paper presents the results of a study in which a work floor professional together with a researcher tried to contribute to the implementation of SCP within the maintenance and refurbishment processes of a Dutch housing association. The results showed that stakeholders could not come to shared understanding of strategic needs, and that that pattern influences and was influenced by social aspects such as leadership and trust, which confirms the importance of explicit attention for social interactions at work floor level for successful implementation of supply chain partnering

Strategic factors for implementing a multiple career path construction doctoral program: a mixed methods study

2022 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.According to the recent literature, a notable percentage of STEM doctoral graduates prefer employment in non-academic career paths such as industry due to diminishing opportunities in academia. However, the doctoral education in the U.S. is designed to prepare graduates to become researchers and teachers for careers in academia. There is limited training available to Ph.D. students related to their training for non-academic career paths. Construction Ph.D. programs are designated as STEM programs and are no exception to this changing career preferences of Ph.D. graduates. Given the changing career landscape of doctoral graduates, it is important for construction Ph.D. programs to prepare doctoral students for success in diverse career paths (academia and industry). A large share of the current research in doctoral education primarily focusses on engineering disciplines, and very limited knowledge is available related to preparation of construction focused Ph.D. graduates effectively for multiple career paths. The broad research objective of this study is to develop strategic factors for construction Ph.D. programs to prepare students for diverse career paths. To achieve the research objective, the study explored the factors that influence construction Ph.D. students career choices through social cognitive career theory theoretical lens, competencies required by construction Ph.D. students for careers in academia and industry, various ways construction Ph.D. programs can prepare students for diverse career paths, and benefits of preparing construction Ph.D. students for various career paths. The study adopted a mixed methods approach, where 38 qualitative interviews were conducted and a quantitative survey was developed and administered (329 responses) with construction Ph.D. students, construction Ph.D. graduates working in the industry, construction faculty, and construction industry professionals. Results indicate that construction-focused Ph.D. students are equally interested in industry-related career choices alongside academia. Factors such as interest in teaching and research, passion for student mentoring and engagement, flexibility in working hours, support from an advisor, unawareness about non-academic opportunities, and satisfaction obtained from teaching influence construction Ph.D. students towards academic careers. Factors such as better salaries, ability to make a difference and advance construction industry, disinterest in academic culture, lack of enough academic jobs, no support from an advisor, and competitive academic funding climate influence construction Ph.D. students towards non-academic (industry) careers. Written and oral communication, problem solving skills, and critical independent thinking competencies are critical to employability success of construction Ph.D. students in both academic and industry career paths. Opportunities to complete industry internships, performing research relevant to construction industry's challenges by balancing both theory and practice, support from advisor related to either of the career choices, networking with both academic and industry professionals are important strategies to prepare construction Ph.D. student for diverse career paths. Preparing construction Ph.D. students for diverse career paths not only improves employability of Ph.D. students but also enhances university-industry research collaborations and improves the ability of construction industry to constantly innovate, adopt technology, and gain access to university research relevant to their needs