Developing a strategy-led approach as a suitable methodology for construction project planning and implementation

Successful project delivery is somewhat elusive because project failures in terms of cost overruns, time delays and quality failures have become common far and wide contributing to low productivity statistics. The evolvement of management philosophies has shown that real world situations are complicated involving qualitative and quantitative features, and hence mathematics and science cannot provide adequate solutions effectively by their own. To enhance decision making through heuristic procedures, several efforts are described in literature including the development of advanced database software packages and computer aided design such as the use of artificial intelligence. However, these solutions are inadequate to mitigate construction failures due to their inadequate capacities and hefty investment amounts. Under these circumstances, some scholars suggest that the development of a strategy-led approach is the only viable solution for construction project planning. Therefore, throughout this doctoral study, the aim is to investigate what strategic approach could be suggested for planning and implementation to successfully deliver construction projects that ensure achievement of the desired outcomes. To investigate the suitability of the strategy-led approach, this research study employs ‘critical multiplism’, in which different research methods are used and the results of each method are finally triangulated. These research methods include the review of literature, an archival analysis of the Construction Manager Year Award (CMYA) statements provided by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), UK, a questionnaire survey to recipients of New Zealand Institute of Building (NZIOB) achiever awards, and interviews with recognized subject matter experts. The results of the data analysis showed that the strategy-led approach to planning and implementation can effectively cope with complexity, dynamism, uncertainty and uniqueness of construction projects. Further, significant relationships were found between the influence of strategies towards critical success factors and project success in terms of cost, time, quality and overall success. The research study found that the strategy-led approach would involve a combination of technical rationality and reflective practice, which construction project managers should apply in planning and implementing projects. The research gives useful recommendations which could facilitate successful delivery of construction projects. The strategy-led approach suggested by this research study is a combination of construction project strategies and traditional planning tools where generative versus rational, spontaneous versus deliberate and transformational versus revolutionary typologies are used as a combination in an appropriate way. It is hoped that these recommendations could improve the reliability of construction project planning approaches so that failures due to increasing complexities and uncertainties can be avoided successfully

Developing work breakdown structure matrix for managing offsite construction projects

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Offsite construction techniques continue to receive considerable attention in academic/research discourse. Whilst discourse in seminal literature critique the positive and negative aspects of offsite; on balance, the benefits outweigh the barriers, especially when fully integrated and managed. From a project management perspective, the techniques applied to construction projects typically commence in determining the project’s work breakdown structure (WBS). Whilst the WBS is applicable to offsite deliverables, reflecting site-based construction activities and concomitant dependencies with the manufacturing processes, there are slight discrepancies in processes, and equally, some areas of repetition and duplication. This mismatch has a fundamental impact on integration, creating pockets of confusion, where less seamless (sub-optimal) synergy between offsite and onsite works is lost. This is an acknowledged challenge. There is, therefore, a real need to retain the product breakdown structure, whilst ensuring a seamless interface with the onsite works is maintained. This is a challenge. Whilst the WBS-matrix has been implemented in the project management domain to bridge the ‘products’ and ‘activities’, this arrangement has not yet been developed for offsite building construction projects. This paper reports an on-going research project set up to implement WBS-matrix for offsite construction projects. Two cases of recently completed offsite construction building projects were studied to analyse current practices–to inform the way forward to further develop the WBS-matrix. Findings from this research provide clear guidance for practitioners involved in offsite construction projects; particularly on the development of the WBS-matrix for manufacturing deliverables/activities in order to more effectively manage offsite construction projects.Published versio

Developing a strategy-led approach as a suitable methodology for construction project planning and implementation

Successful project delivery is somewhat elusive because project failures in terms of cost overruns, time delays and quality failures have become common far and wide contributing to low productivity statistics. The evolvement of management philosophies has shown that real world situations are complicated involving qualitative and quantitative features, and hence mathematics and science cannot provide adequate solutions effectively by their own. To enhance decision making through heuristic procedures, several efforts are described in literature including the development of advanced database software packages and computer aided design such as the use of artificial intelligence. However, these solutions are inadequate to mitigate construction failures due to their inadequate capacities and hefty investment amounts. Under these circumstances, some scholars suggest that the development of a strategy-led approach is the only viable solution for construction project planning. Therefore, throughout this doctoral study, the aim is to investigate what strategic approach could be suggested for planning and implementation to successfully deliver construction projects that ensure achievement of the desired outcomes. To investigate the suitability of the strategy-led approach, this research study employs ‘critical multiplism’, in which different research methods are used and the results of each method are finally triangulated. These research methods include the review of literature, an archival analysis of the Construction Manager Year Award (CMYA) statements provided by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), UK, a questionnaire survey to recipients of New Zealand Institute of Building (NZIOB) achiever awards, and interviews with recognized subject matter experts. The results of the data analysis showed that the strategy-led approach to planning and implementation can effectively cope with complexity, dynamism, uncertainty and uniqueness of construction projects. Further, significant relationships were found between the influence of strategies towards critical success factors and project success in terms of cost, time, quality and overall success. The research study found that the strategy-led approach would involve a combination of technical rationality and reflective practice, which construction project managers should apply in planning and implementing projects. The research gives useful recommendations which could facilitate successful delivery of construction projects. The strategy-led approach suggested by this research study is a combination of construction project strategies and traditional planning tools where generative versus rational, spontaneous versus deliberate and transformational versus revolutionary typologies are used as a combination in an appropriate way. It is hoped that these recommendations could improve the reliability of construction project planning approaches so that failures due to increasing complexities and uncertainties can be avoided successfully

Building information modelling in construction: insights from collaboration and change management perspectives

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. A case study is used to obtain the experiences from a contractor and their subcontractors involved with constructing the landmark Perth Stadium, which required a building information model (BIM) to be delivered for the purpose of asset management. Insights about ‘how’ the adoption of a BIM influenced the practice of collaboration and change management within the project are obtained. It was revealed that having limited experience and knowledge to deliver a model for asset management often resulted the project team ‘muddling through a problem’. This was not necessarily due to a shortage of training, but a lack of BIM knowledge, which inadvertently influenced every day practice. The research presented builds on the extant body of works that have examined how the construction industry can effectively acquire the benefits of BIM for asset management. It also highlights the need to incorporate education and learning into a project’s BIM implementation strategy