Construction mediation and its hybridization: the case of the Hong Kong construction industry

In view of the sophisticated nature of construction disputes, specialized dispute resolution mechanisms are of pivotal importance to the satisfactory settlement between disputing parties. Among the various construction dispute resolution mechanisms, mediation has been increasingly gaining recognition and acceptance. Its hybrid, namely mediation-arbitration (med-arb), has also emerged and has started receiving attention and appreciation. With special reference to the construction industry practice in Hong Kong, a commentary on the respective merits and demerits of construction mediation and construction med-arb, as well as the ways forward, are presented in this article

Analysis of criteria for contractors’ qualification evaluation

Selecting a construction contractor is a major decision which may influence the progress and success of any construction project. The paper analyses criteria used to evaluate qualification of contractors in Lithuania and abroad. Both in Lithuania and abroad, the bid price of construction works is the main criterion for evaluation of con‐tractors. The lowest price often cannot guarantee commitments on quality and duration of a construction project. Therefore, when selecting a contractor, a client must not only compare bid prices but also set other criteria for evalua‐tion of qualification and determine their weight. A contractor must be selected according to both quantitative and qualitative criteria, and bids should be compared. Only on the basis of quantitative and qualitative evaluation criteria and by comparing bids of contractors it is possible to select a qualified, competent and reliable contractor, to evaluate its qualification, economic and financial condition and technical capability and skills and to achieve relevant results in a construction project. The paper provides an investigation of Lithuanian companies, which analyses issues related to evaluation of contractors’ qualification. The paper is completed with a discussion of the investigation results and delivery of proposals based on expert estimations of the weight of criteria for evaluation of contractors. Rangovų kvalifikacijos vertinimo kriterijų analizė Santrauka Rangovo parinkimas yra labai svarbus veiksnys, turintis įtakos statybos projekto eigai ir sėkmei. Analizuojami Lietuvoje ir užsienio šalyse rangovų kvalifikacijai vertinti taikomi kriterijai. Ir Lietuvoje, ir užsienio šalyse svarbiausias rangovų atrankos kriterijus yra siūloma statybos darbų kaina. Dažnai mažiausia kaina neužtikrina įsipareigojimų dėl statybos projekto kokybės ir trukmės vykdymo. Todėl užsakovas, rinkdamasis rangovą, turi lyginti ne tik pasiūlymų kainas, bet nusistatyti ir įvertinti kitus kvalifikacijos vertinimo kriterijus, atsižvelgti į jų svarbą. Tik remiantis kiekybiniais ir kokybiniais vertinimo kriterijais ir lyginant rangovų pasiūlymus tarpusavyje, galima pasirinkti kvalifikuotą, kompetentingą ir patikimą rangovą, įvertinti jo ekonominę ir finansinę būklę, techninį pajėgumą ir gebėjimus, kvalifikaciją, pasiekti gerų statybos projekto rezultatų. Straipsnyje pateikiamas Lietuvos įmonių tyrimas, kuriame nagrinėjami rangovų kvalifikacijos vertinimo klausimai, pabaigoje aptariami tyrimo rezultatai bei, remiantis ekspertiniais vertinimais, pateikiami pasiūlymai dėl rangovų vertinimo kriterijų svarbos. Reikšminiai žodžiai: rangovo kvalifikacija, vertinimo kriterijai, kriterijų svarba, tyrimas. First Published Online: 21 Oct 201

Application of fuzzy fault tree analysis to identify factors influencing construction labor productivity: a high-rise building case study

The aim of this research is to develop a systematic approach to identify and prioritize the most influencing factors on labor productivity in a construction project, with respect to their interrelations, and also investigate different scenarios which can affect it. In the first step, factors influencing construction labor productivity were identified through reviewing previous researches. Applying a group of experts, the most important factors were then determined using their relative importance index in the second step. In the third step, the interrelations among factors were determined through several sessions and interviewing those experts. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed methodology is proved by implementing in a real high rise building construction project. In this step, the selected factors from previous steps were used subsequently for analyzing their impact on labor productivity through fuzzy fault tree analysis. The probability of occurrence of events was determined according to the opinions of four members of the project management team who involved in that project. The most critical causes were also identified using importance analysis. It is believed that using the proposed methodology, appropriate response strategies could be adopted against the identified critical events to enhance the overall productivity of a construction project

A staged approach for energy retrofitting an old service building: a cost-optimal assessment

Office buildings built before the pre-1960 age constitute a relevant group for analyzing the energy performance of the Portuguese building sector. A dynamic energy simulation was used to assess the energy performance of an existing office building located in the town of Bragança, Portugal. By using a staged renovation approach, two passive technologies applied to the building envelope and an efficient domestic hot water system were selected and a financial evaluation through the net saving (NS) method was undertaken to choose the best efficiency measures/packages for improving the building’s energy performance. Real discount rates of 3% and 1% were used in the financial evaluation. Considering the real discount rate of 3%, the results showed that only two out seven retrofit options had a positive financial return. By using the real discount rate of 1%, all retrofit options were found to be financially efficient. The results of the study corroborated those of earlier works that found that the financial profitability of energy renovation investments is very sensitive to the discount rate used in the analysis. The results of the study also suggested that the staged renovation approach used in the analysis is economically feasible, and that this approach is an alternative to one-step renovation approach to help to achieve the country´s energy and climate targets by 2030. Suggestions for future research conducted for office buildings in the different climate zones and other age groups in Portugal are proposed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Foreign direct investment and growth: analysis of the construction sector in the Baltic States

In the construction industry of the Baltic States, the aftermath of the economic crisis poses new questions as to what occasioned the crisis. The paper analyses a causal relationship between foreign direct investment in construction (CFDI) and the contribution of the construction industry to gross domestic product (GDP) using data obtained in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) for the period from 2000 to 2011. The conducted research includes the initial econometric analysis of variables, which involves the verification of seasonality and stationarity with the help of time series plots, a unit root test and Granger causality test. The study has found that, in the case of Lithuania and Estonia, CFDI is not the Granger cause of the construction industry’s contribution to GDP growth; conversely, value added by the construction sector is not the Granger cause of FDI into the sector, and there is one-way causality from value added by the construction sector to CFDI, and the construction industry’s contribution to GDP does not influence CFDI in Latvia

A novel sorting method topsis-sort: an applicaiton for tehran environmental quality evaluation

Many real-life problems are multi-objective by nature that requires evaluation of more than one criterion, therefore MCDM has become an important issue. In recent years, many MCDM methods have been developed; the existing approaches have been improved and extended. Multi criteria decision analysis has been regarded as a suitable set of methods to perform sustainability evaluations. Among numerous MCDM methods developed to solve real-life decision problems, Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) continues to work satisfactorily in diverse application areas. In this paper, a novel sorting method (TOPSIS-Sort) based on the classic TOPSIS method is presented. In the TOPSIS-Sort approach an outranking relation is used for sorting purposes. The proposed approach uses characteristic profiles for defining the classes and outranking relation as the preference model. Application of the proposed approach is demonstrated by classifying 22 districts of Tehran into five classes (but none of the districts fits into Classes 4 and 5), representing areas with different levels of environmental quality. An analysis and assessment of the environmental conditions in Tehran helps to identify the districts with the poor environmental quality. Priority should be given to these areas to maintain and improve the quality of environment. The results obtained by the TOPSIS-Sort give credence to its success, because the results of sorting con firm our and specialists’ evaluation of the districts. This research provides appropriate results with respect to the development of sorting models in the form of outranking relations. The model, proposed by this study, is applicable to the other outranking methods such as ELECTRE, PROMETHEE, etc

Identification and evaluation of the critical success factors for construction projects in Lithuania: AHP approach

This paper proposes the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a tool to rank different critical success factors (CSFs) for construction projects in Lithuania. Considering the current lack of understanding of CSFs within the local context, this study is one of the first attempts to gain an understanding of the CSFs in the local industry. Our study revealed that, for construction projects in Lithuania, clear and realistic project goals, project planning, the project manager's competence, relevant past experience of the project management/team, the competence of the project management/team, clear and precise goals/objectives of the client, the project's value, the project's complexity and uniqueness, the project manager's experience, and the client's ability to make timely decisions are the top-ranking CSFs. In view of these findings, the study highlighted the key areas for successful implementation of construction projects in Lithuania

Evaluation of critical success factors for construction projects – an empirical study in Lithuania

This paper aims to identify a comprehensive list of critical success factors for construction projects in Lithuania. Based on the available literature review, this paper identified 71 success factors under 7 broad groups. Based on the survey results, ten factors including project manager competence, project management team members' competence, project manager coordinating skills, client clear and precise goals/objectives, project value, project management team members' relevant past experience, project manager organising skills, project manager effective and timely conflict resolution, client ability to make timely decision, and project manager experience were determined as the most important success factors for construction projects. These critical success factors are of great significance both to researchers and industry practitioners

Real estate's knowledge and device‐based decision support system

The authors of this paper participated in the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme project Intelligent Cities (INTELCITIES, 2005). One of INTELCITIES's goals (on the Lithuanian side) was to develop a Real Estate's Knowledge and Device‐based Decision Support System (KDDSS‐RE). Major KDDSS ‐RE functions include creating and maintaining customer's personalized real estate objectives, preferences, and evaluation criteria; participation of various stakeholders (buyers, sellers, brokers, etc.) in joint determination of criteria (criteria system, values and weights) defining real estate; market signalling, provide device‐based data about indoor microclimates and allergens causing allergy in buildings; searching for real estate alternatives, finding alternatives and making an initial negotiation table, completing a multiple criteria analysis of alternatives, making electronic negotiations based on real calculations, determining the most rational real estate purchase variant, and completing an analysis of loan alternatives offered by certain banks. The authors of the present research have suggested the idea to integrate knowledge‐based, devices‐based and decision support systems. In order to demonstrate the integration decision support, knowledge and devices systems in the real estate sector a Real Estate's Knowledge and Devices‐based Decision Support System have been considered in the paper as an example. Santruka Šio darbo autoriai dalyvavo šeštosios bendrosios programos projekte ‘Intelektualūs miestai” (INTELCITIES). Vienas iš INTELCITIES tikslu (Lietuvoje) – sukurti žiniomis ir prietaisais pagrista nekilnojamojo turto sprendimu paramos sistema (KDDSS‐RE). Pagrindines KDDSS‐RE funkcijos yra šios: sukurti ir pletoti klientui asmeniškai pritaikytus nekilnojamojo turto tikslus, pageidavimus ir vertinimo kriterijus; ivairioms suinteresuotosioms grupems (pirkejams, pardavejams, tarpininkams ir pan.) suteikti galimybe drauge nustatyti nekilnojamaji turta apibūdinančius kriterijus (kriteriju sistema, vertes ir reikšmingumus); rinkos tyrimas, iš prietaisu gautu duomenu apie patalpu mikroklimata ir pastatuose esančius alergenus pateikimas; alternatyviu nekilnojamojo turto variantu paieška, ju radimas ir pradines derybu lenteles sudarymas, alternatyvu daugiakriterine analize, realiais skaičiavimais pagristos elektronines derybos, racionaliausio nekilnojamojo turto varianto pirkimui nustatymas ir tam tikru banku siūlomu alternatyviu paskolu variantu analize. Šio tyrimo autoriai pasiūle ideja integruoti žiniomis ir prietaisais pagristas bei sprendimu paramos sistemas. Siekiant sprendimu paramos, žiniu ir prietaisu sistemu integravima pademonstruoti nekilnojamojo turto sektoriuje, darbe nagrinejama žiniomis ir prietaisais pagrista nekilnojamojo turto sprendimu paramos sistema. First Published Online: 09 Jun 201