Contractors’ Strategic Approaches to Risk Assessment Techniques at Project Planning Stage

Abstract — The construction industry is still plagued by poor quality, poor workmanship, poor safety and health environment, and poor practices. The current main problem in the Malaysian Construction Industry is delayed projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The idea of introducing formal risk assessment among Malaysian contractors during the project planning stage is a proactive approach to achieve project objectives. Therefore, this research intends to achieve the following objectives: (1) to investigate the contractors’ approaches of risk assessment techniques at the project planning stage, (2) to investigate the consequences of risk assessment techniques at the project planning stage, and (3) to determine the appropriate risk assessment techniques in dealing with the potential risk factors at the project planning stage. The research methodology applied for this research includes literature reviews and questionnaires. Findings from this research show that the application of risk assessment techniques in the Malaysian Construction Industry is still moderate. Hence, it is suggested that these contractors should try to implement formal risk assessment techniques during the project planning stage in order to achieve the project objectives.Keywords - Risk; Risk Assessment; Contractors; Project Planning Stage; Construction Industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM): A New Paradigm for Quality of Life Within Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry

AbstractThe adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) constitutes a paradigm shift in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Broader BIM adoption will transform construction processes to achieve greater efficiency to improve the quality of life (QOL) of construction stakeholders. This paper seeks to identify determinant factors and implementation gaps of BIM in the AEC industry. A case study was conducted through a preliminary workshop organised by CIDB among the five potential stakeholders: Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit (UKAS), JARING, eMOST/UMP, Greenwave Synergy (GWS) and CIDB eConstruct (EC) of the AEC industry in Malaysia. The findings suggest various determining factors and gaps existed at the national and organisational levels. Finally, the workshop suggested an ‘affordable BIM concept’ with ‘pay-per-use or periodical license’ method to be adopted for SMEs contractors

Financing Preference Behaviour for Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Projects

Project Financing Initiative (PFI) projects require the private sector to invest an enormous amount of capital for the development of public projects. The private sector has to seek cost-effective financing sources for their survival in the long-term concession. Conventional financing uses widely; however, Islamic financing promises better financing through profit and loss sharing. This paper reviews financing preferences for PFI projects and the factors influencing the choice of funding. The results show that religious perspective, quality of services, financing facilities and reputation are the factors that are expected will influence the financing preference behaviour, either Islamic or conventional finance.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Conventional project finance; Islamic project finance; preference; Private Finance Initiativ

Disaster Resilience and Human Behavior: Hospital Buildings in Malaysia

 Hospitals are themselves vulnerable to numerous types of disasters and can get damaged risking the lives of human being. To a certain extent, despite of hard resilience (structural and non-structural), human behavior is one of the contributing factors affecting the hospital’s capability in achieving disaster resilience. Hence, the objectives of the paper are twofold: to explore human weaknesses; and to investigate strategies for achieving disaster resilience for existing public hospitals. Qualitative research techniques were employed in the form of focus group approach. The findings revealed that six human weaknesses and five strategies have been asserted by the respondents as of utmost critical.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Disaster Resilience; hard and soft resilience; hospital; human behaviou

Adopting Contractors’ Risk Management (CIRIM) Framework using Multi Dimensional Theories

In general, many contractors in Malaysia are found to have a limited expertise in developing an appropriate strategy to mitigate project risks. Consequently, this has led contractors struggling to complete the project on schedule, within the client’s budget and quality parameters. This was proven by the current issues on the delayed projects reported in the Ninth Malaysian Plan. Currently in Malaysia, there is no existing risk management framework specifically designed for contractors. Thus, the idea of introducing CIRIM among the Malaysian contractors is a proactive approach to achieve better project objectives. This paper therefore proposes to introduce the CIRIM framework to be adopted by the Malaysian contractors. The research methodology applied in the main research includes literature reviews, questionnaires and interviews. It is found that although there are some forms of risk management systems being used in the Malaysian construction industry, most of them are not well structured, documented and implemented in a formal manner. Therefore, the idea of establishing the CIRIM framework among Malaysian contractors is paramount and justified.Keywords: Risk Management, Contractors, CIRIM, Construction, Malaysia

Client Governing Success Criteria in Building Information Modelling (BIM)-Based Projects

Building Information Modeling (BIM), also known as n-D Modeling is a revolutionary development in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) industry that consists of both technology and process. BIM helps project stakeholders in communicating complex, technical and difficult to visualise project elements that not easily explained. Nevertheless, there is a lack of overall governance within the current projects environment. A successful BIM implementation needs the involvement of behavioural, cultural and technological changes to transform the organisation into BIM-based projects through adopting new processes and standards. Thus, it is inevitable to develop a governance solution to facilitate BIM adoption in a collaborative working environment across project lifecycle. This paper discusses a success measure of BIM-based projects in Malaysia. The methodology is based on a qualitative research technique and the method is through a well-planned brainstorming workshop. All data were analysed using Atlas t.i. version 8. The findings revealed that four (4) success measures of BIM-based projects are: socio-organisational, legal, technical, and financial. It is anticipated that the findings reported in this paper could provide an insight for future strategies and guidelines for the development of BIM projects in Malaysia. BIM governance framework proves to be valuable for project stakeholders in managing collective efforts to standardise construction processes

International Technology Transfer (ITT) and development of technological capabilities in Malaysian construction industry: a conceptual framework / Assoc. Prof. Dr. Roshana Takim, Prof. Dr. Abdul Hadi Nawawi and Roshartini Omar

The phenomenon of 'international technology transfer' or ITT projects has emerged as an important business and managerial concern for many developing countries. ITT in construction is seen as an effective mechanism to advance the flow of technological development by acquiring newer technology from abroad in response to a changing economic environment. The concept of ITT in construction organisations could occur simultaneously, involving the flow of imported technology (i.e., knowledge, skills and tools) via construction projects. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop a framework to enhance implementation of International Technology Transfer (ITT) in Malaysian construction projects. Empirical research undertaken by means of Initial Survey among two academicians and three practitioners involved in technology transfer research and projects, followed by Case Studies (by means of semi-structured interviews) among the six (6) Malaysian International Companies with experience in ITT projects. The response rate was 48.6% (35 out of 72 respondents) within a-year period. The results were analysed by means of content analysis techniques using NVivo software version 8. The findings from the research were then used to develop a conceptual framework for ITT and development of technological capabilities in Malaysian construction industry. The Framework was validated using a validation questionnaire survey. The research showed that the five major factors (or components) that influence the process of international technology transfer (ITT). There are: types of technology (i.e., knowledge, skills and tools); the organisations (i.e., public and private sectors); the level of absorptive capacity; the level of technological capabilities, and benefits and barriers of ITT projects. The results of the research could provide an insight into the Malaysian construction project development and will hopefully provide valuable guidelines, especially to public or private sectors in Malaysia that are looking forward to global construction market

Building Information Modeling: Quality of life

The adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) constitutes a paradigm shift in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Broader BIM adoption will transform construction processes to achieve greater efficiency to improve the quality of life (QOL) of construction stakeholders. This paper seeks to identify determinant factors and implementation gaps of BIM in the AEC industry.  A case study was conducted through a preliminary workshop organised by CIDB among the five potential stakeholders from Malaysian public and private. Finally, the workshop suggested an ‘affordable BIM concept' with ‘pay-per-use or periodical license' method to be adopted for SMEs contractors.2398-4295 © 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Building Information Modeling (BIM); BIM influencing model; construction; technolog

Contractors’ Strategic Approaches to Risk Assessment Techniques at Project Planning Stage

Abstract — The construction industry is still plagued by poor quality, poor workmanship, poor safety and health environment, and poor practices. The current main problem in the Malaysian Construction Industry is delayed projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The idea of introducing formal risk assessment among Malaysian contractors during the project planning stage is a proactive approach to achieve project objectives. Therefore, this research intends to achieve the following objectives: (1) to investigate the contractors’ approaches of risk assessment techniques at the project planning stage, (2) to investigate the consequences of risk assessment techniques at the project planning stage, and (3) to determine the appropriate risk assessment techniques in dealing with the potential risk factors at the project planning stage. The research methodology applied for this research includes literature reviews and questionnaires. Findings from this research show that the application of risk assessment techniques in the Malaysian Construction Industry is still moderate. Hence, it is suggested that these contractors should try to implement formal risk assessment techniques during the project planning stage in order to achieve the project objectives

The Integration of ASRC System within BIM

Technically, safety planning and project execution planning has been carried out separately for most BIM-based projects. As such, it leads to difficulties in monitor these planning simultaneously during construction phase. In this regards, the Automated Safety Rule Checking (ASRC) system is perceived to distinguish fall hazards by integrating the system in the existing BIM-model. This paper pursues to explore the integration of ASRC system within BIM-based projects in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was employed to large public and private organisations that involved with BIM. The data were analysed by using content analysis technique and revealed that ASRC system is yet to be incorporated into BIM-based projects in Malaysia.Keywords: ASRC System; BIM; Fall Hazard; SafetyeISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia