Understanding supply chain management from a main contractor's perspective

The emergence of supply chain management (SCM) in construction was predominantly driven by major clients that began to adopt procurement arrangements such as prime contracting, partnering, and framework agreements. These were major clients that had the power leverage to mobilise construction firms for projects that spanned a considerable timeframe. Despite such early efforts towards SCM adoption, it increasingly became apparent that numerous subcontractors and suppliers were not fully integrated into these supply chain driven collaborative approaches. This has remained a key shortcoming of such collaborative efforts in the construction sector (Kumaraswamy et al. 2010). This situation has now provided main contractors with the enormous responsibility of coordinating and managing multi-layered tiers of suppliers and subcontractors for production and value addition across multiple projects. Main contractors have taken an interest in SCM as an approach for coordinating upstream linkages with demand-side organisations, in addition to the downstream tiers of supply chain firms assembled to deliver projects. However, empirical evidence of SCM initiatives and practices that have been implemented by main contractors to manage the lower tiers of the supply chain remain scarce (Pala et al. 2014, Broft et al. 2016). In this chapter, the multi-layered nature of subcontracting in construction will be discussed, together with its ramifications, before reviewing literature on SCM principles and practices that can be adopted by main contractors. A case study of SCM practices implemented by a large UK main contractor is then used to provide some empirical evidence of SCM adoption from a main contractor’s perspective. This case study focuses on the ‘dyadic’ relationship between a Tier-1 main contractor and Tier-2 subcontractors

Design management: changing roles of the professions

This paper sets out to explore how recent changes in procurement in construction have affected the roles that professions play in the design process. It discusses how professions that traditionally took the role of design manager now find themselves participating within previously unforeseen contexts, working in multidisciplinary teams led by contractors and with changed responsibilities at the design stage. Supply chain members who were not previously involved during the early project phases are being engaged at the earliest phases of the project life cycle and even taking leadership roles while designers sometimes work as supply chain partners. A study of design in construction and other sectors shows that in dealing with design management issues it is critical to deepen appreciation for the unique characteristics of design and the design process. The paper argues that contractors and designers taking on design management roles in a dynamic industry seeking to explore best practice and innovative approaches to procurement and in the delivery of projects need to acquire new skills, management education and develop the necessary qualities

Clinical leadership through commissioning: Does it work in practice?

In tune with much international practice, the English National Health Service has been striving to transform health care provision to make it more affordable in the face of rising demand. At the heart of a set of recent radical reforms has been the launch of ‘clinical commissioning’ using the vehicle of local groups of General Practitioners (GPs). This devolves a large portion of the total healthcare budget to these groups. National government policy statements make clear that the expectation is that the groups will ‘transform’ the organization and provision of health services. In this article we draw upon interviews, observations and analysis of internal documents to make an assessment of the extent to which clinical leaders have seized the opportunity presented by the creation of these groups to attempt transformative service redesign

The non-adoption of supply chain management

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Construction Management and Economics on 10th October 2013, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01446193.2013.830186.Largely taken for granted within the UK construction sector has been a view that supply chain management theory is robust, relevant and reliable. As such it has formed a substantial aspect of previous and contemporary policy and government funded research. Despite this, the general view of its development and diffusion over the last 15 years within the construction industry has been problematic. Coincidentally, prevailing debates within the supply chain management academic community point to the lack of unified theory, models of diffusion and strong connections to organization theory. Using Straussian grounded theory, iterations between data and organization theory provided a fresh perspective on the development and diffusion of supply chain management in construction. This inductive research provided contextually rich explanations for development and diffusion that explicitly connected with and drew upon robust, relevant and reliable theories of institutions, innovation diffusion, triads, quasifirms and mechanisms of organizational governance. These explanations challenge the simplistic assumption that chains and networks of organizations are holistically managed and controlled by any single organization or institution in the construction industry. The debate therefore shifts away from proselytizing supply chain management towards research that explores the rigour, relevance and reliability of supply chain management assumptions in construction. The gap between industry practice and policy is exposed and the question is posed: to what extent policy and practice do, or should, constitute a recursive relationship.© 2013 Taylor & Francis

Practices, Issues and Possibilities at the interface between Geriatrics and Palliative Care: An Exploratory study (InGaP)

Introduction: With the expansion of palliative care into non-malignant conditions, there is an increasing emphasis on inter-disciplinary working between geriatric and palliative care teams. This inter-disciplinary working has evolved organically and more needs to be known about current working practices. This is of policy and clinical interest as the elderly patient population continues to grow. Methods: An exploratory qualitative interview study was undertaken of end-of-life care for older in-patients in a large London NHS Trust. Staff from palliative care and geriatric medical and nursing teams and patients and carers were contacted for interview. 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with staff, two with patients and five with carers. Questions covered: recent examples where teams worked together; staff perceptions of collaboration and issues; patient and carer perceptions of clarity as to who was providing care. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed focusing on: examples of successful collaboration; areas of tension, duplication or confusion about responsibilities; suggestions for future practice. Results: Participants were overwhelmingly positive about collaboration between the teams. Examples of what currently works well were: the referral process to the palliative care team; inter-team communication and use of face-to-face handovers; unity between the teams when communicating with patients and families. Areas of concern and for future development were: embedding palliative care within multidisciplinary team meetings within the ward; the need for continual on-ward education given rotation of junior medical staff; improving collaboration between palliative care, physiotherapy and occupational therapy; patients’ and carers’ lack of awareness of the different teams and whether this has a detrimental effect on their care. Conclusions: There is evidence of strong collaborative working between the teams however this study provides insights into where things could be improved. The study has shown the feasibility of the methodology, particularly when interviewing patients and carers during a difficult time in their care. An exploration of these relationships in other settings is required to determine if the same themes arise with a view to inform national guidelines and policy to improve care towards the end of life

Understanding institutional change in project-based organizing

This article concerns what is involved in breaking out of entrenched adversarial models for running interorganizational projects within the construction sector. It presents data from two case studies that sought to establish a more collaborative project model. Drawing on literatures about institutional change and interorganizational collaboration, the analysis indicates the importance of three kinds of activities. First, it is possible to mobilize potential for change present within existing institutionalized models by selecting a kernel of participating organizations known to have the capabilities to operationalize collaboration. Second, adopting techniques for working together that make explicit the need to balance project objectives with organizational-level commercial viability leads to the enactment of routines through which a wider pool of project participants can develop a sense of competence and confidence in collaboration. Third, there is a necessity to preserve a unified system of authority within the project that ensures adherence to collaborative routines, although otherwise encouraging autonomy in decision making

Distance working in urban and rural settings Conclusions and recommendations for action

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Social aspects of new information technology in the UK A review of initiatives in local communication; distance working; and education and training

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