Performance measurement for construction businesses

Measurement of performance is important to the construction sector as an additional way of improving and sustaining competitiveness in the long-term. Most large construction organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) practise performance measurement because they believe it affects their business positively in the longer-term. Performance measurement is thus, recognised as an important way of keeping an organisation on track in achieving its strategic objectives. However, there are still construction organisations that believe performance measurement does not aid in creating and developing appropriate strategies for their organisations, but helps organisations in identifying areas where they did or did not perform well. The improvements in performance thus, can only be brought about through step-by-step strategic guidance to organisations to achieve their performance targets. The first step towards achieving these targets comprises the following: understand the performance measurement process of organisations, and identify the appropriate criteria that need to be measured to improve business; identify strengths and opportunities, which in turn can create a way to maximise profits for an organisation. Such an approach would help organisations target relevant performance measurements and embed them in their organisational strategy in a structured step-by-step manner. Premised on the foregoing, this research project aims to investigate potential tools for improving performance measurement practices in the construction industry. In addition, this research aims to assist organisations in implementing performance measurement in a proper manner and to help them understand the performance measurement process. The first step (objective 1) of this research is to review the generic body of literature in performance measurement to understand key concepts, definitions and existing practices and identify commonly used performance measurement tools. It is noted that there are several definitions of performance measurement. However, at its basic level, performance measurement is a process of determining how successful organisations or individuals have been in attaining their objectives and strategies. To achieve this, the outputs of an organisation's strategic and operational processes are measured in a quantifiable form; the results are used to monitor closely the performance of the organisation, internally and externally. Findings of the review (and later those of objectives 2 and 3) reveal that the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model are the two most widely known and used tools, in all sectors including construction, to measure an organisation s performance. Semi-structured interviews (objectives 2 and 3) were conducted with performance measurement directors and managers in large UK construction companies. The interviews revealed that performance measurement is being practised in organisations directly or indirectly to help improve businesses and profits. The purpose of interviews was to seek the organisations views on how they approach and conduct performance measurement and derive benefits from it. All organisations agreed that the financial aspects such as profit margins and growth, as well as non-financial aspects such as health and safety and customer satisfaction are important criteria to be measured. Both financial and non-financial criteria need to be considered and included in an organisation's strategy; they are important considerations for any future strategy development. Findings of the interviews and the literature review suggest the best way to create an organisation's strategy as the following: understand the performance measurement process of organisations and identify the appropriate criteria, which need to be measured to improve business; identify strengths and opportunities, which in turn can create a way to maximise profits for an organisation. This led to the development of a Framework (also called the Performance Measurement Migration Path) (objective 4), which would help organisations target relevant performance measurements and embed them in their organisational strategy in a structured step-by-step manner. Its implementation in organisations can make performance measurement processes easy and smooth. Evaluation (objective 5) of the framework confirms its suitability and acceptability to industry players for the use in improving the implementation of performance measurement

A review on purposes of project manager’s leadership skills in pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects

Project manager has an important role as a leader in sustainable construction project by implementing sustainability concept into practices. Considering the responsibilities of project manager, their role is noticeable in achieving sustainability objectives in a project. However, a failure to manage a project especially at pre-construction phase in sustainable construction can cause conflicts that can lead to project delay. The ability of project manager as a leader is crucial to manage a project in the early phase. Yet, this requires project manager as a project leader to have effective leadership skills to manage pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects due to the management commitment towards sustainability. Thus, the aim this paper is to identify the purposes of project manager’s leadership skills in pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. The overall intent of this paper is to highlight the purposes and identify project manager’s leadership skills in pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects so it can be adapted in current practices, hence, to effectively manage the sustainable construction projects strategically

The Improvement Factors of Leadership Skills among Project Managers in Pre-Construction Phase of Sustainable Construction Projects

Leadership skills are required in any area, including the construction industry. Compared to conventional construction projects, the obstacles of practising leadership skills are more significant in sustainable construction projects. In the context of managing a project, a project manager is accountable for overseeing the project from the pre-construction phase to the post-construction phase. Nevertheless, project managers often encountered utmost difficulties in sustainable construction projects during the pre-construction phase. Despite that, improving leadership skills would emerge to boost project manager performance in managing sustainable construction projects. Thus, this paper aims to determine the improvement factors of leadership skills among project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. A questionnaire survey was developed with 44 improvement factors of leadership skills among project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects, in which 153 experienced project managers in sustainable construction projects in Malaysia responded. Data were analysed using normality test, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis via IBM SPSS version 24 software. The finding reveals that all improvement factors were significant to improve leadership skills among project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. Hence, this paper's findings would assist project managers in grasping the improvement factors that can improve their leadership skills, particularly in sustainable construction projects

The Improvement Factors of Leadership Skills among Project Managers in Pre-Construction Phase of Sustainable Construction Projects

Leadership skills are required in any area, including the construction industry. Compared to conventional construction projects, the obstacles of practising leadership skills are more significant in sustainable construction projects. In the context of managing a project, a project manager is accountable for overseeing the project from the pre-construction phase to the post-construction phase. Nevertheless, project managers often encountered utmost difficulties in sustainable construction projects during the pre-construction phase. Despite that, improving leadership skills would emerge to boost project manager performance in managing sustainable construction projects. Thus, this paper aims to determine the improvement factors of leadership skills among project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. A questionnaire survey was developed with 44 improvement factors of leadership skills among project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects, in which 153 experienced project managers in sustainable construction projects in Malaysia responded. Data were analysed using normality test, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis via IBM SPSS version 24 software. The finding reveals that all improvement factors were significant to improve leadership skills among project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. Hence, this paper's findings would assist project managers in grasping the improvement factors that can improve their leadership skills, particularly in sustainable construction projects

Sustainable Construction Projects: The Level of Understanding on Leadership Skills among Project Managers

A project manager is a crucial factor of a project's success, especially in sustainable construction projects. Their role as a leader is also observable with regard to achieving sustainability objectives in sustainable construction projects. In contrast to conventional projects, sustainable construction projects face more nuanced issues. The influence of leadership skills of the project managers is therefore becoming essential for the success of sustainable construction projects. This study examines the level of understanding of leadership skills among project managers in sustainable construction projects and determines the correlation between their experience and understanding of leadership skills. A questionnaire survey was carried out among 153 project managers with experience in the management of sustainable construction projects in Malaysia. The IBM SPSS software version 24 was used to perform a descriptive statistic, a normality test, and a Spearman's correlation test on the data collected. The results indicate a very high level of understanding among project managers regarding leadership skills in sustainable construction projects. Apart from that, there is a positive correlation between years of experience in sustainable construction projects and the level of understanding of leadership skills among project managers in sustainable construction projects. The findings of this research will serve as an avenue for future researchers to identify the necessary leadership skills for project managers to manage sustainable construction projects effectively

Sustainable Construction Projects: The Level of Understanding on Leadership Skills among Project Managers

A project manager is a crucial factor of a project's success, especially in sustainable construction projects. Their role as a leader is also observable with regard to achieving sustainability objectives in sustainable construction projects. In contrast to conventional projects, sustainable construction projects face more nuanced issues. The influence of leadership skills of the project managers is therefore becoming essential for the success of sustainable construction projects. This study examines the level of understanding of leadership skills among project managers in sustainable construction projects and determines the correlation between their experience and understanding of leadership skills. A questionnaire survey was carried out among 153 project managers with experience in the management of sustainable construction projects in Malaysia. The IBM SPSS software version 24 was used to perform a descriptive statistic, a normality test, and a Spearman's correlation test on the data collected. The results indicate a very high level of understanding among project managers regarding leadership skills in sustainable construction projects. Apart from that, there is a positive correlation between years of experience in sustainable construction projects and the level of understanding of leadership skills among project managers in sustainable construction projects. The findings of this research will serve as an avenue for future researchers to identify the necessary leadership skills for project managers to manage sustainable construction projects effectively

Review on Project Manager’s Leadership Skills in the Pre-Construction Phase of Sustainable Construction Projects

Project managers have played a vital role in sustainable construction projects by integrating the concept of sustainability into their practices. The role of project manager is important in all phases of sustainable construction projects but especially in the pre-construction phase when the greatest challenges that require their involvement occur. This requires project managers to have effective leadership skills to think a project through and remain focused on the end goal. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify the project manager’s leadership skills in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. A key significant contribution of this paper is the literature review of journals and books on project manager’s leadership skills when engaged in sustainable construction projects. The overall intent is to highlight and identify the leadership skills of project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects so that the values and benefits of these skills can be adapted in current practices to successfully deliver such projects

The Influence of Building Information Modelling (BIM) towards Return on Investment (ROI) from the Perspective of Malaysian Developers: A Qualitative Approach

Building Information Modelling (BIM) was introduced in Malaysia in 2007. However, Malaysian developers were reluctant to implement BIM because they could not see the advantages of BIM in monetary terms. This paper aims to determine the impact of BIM towards Return on Investment (ROI) from the developers’ perspective. A literature review was carried out to review the linkage between BIM and ROI. The study engaged a qualitative approach and four (4) respondents were selected for preliminary data collection based on their expertise in BIM. Data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interview sessions and was analysed using a qualitative content analysis technique. The findings show that BIM had impacted on the ROI of both the project and organisation. At present, these findings support the argument that BIM does have an impact on the ROI both positively and negatively. However, the findings prove that BIM is worthy of its pricey initial investment. It is therefore suggested that Malaysian developers to invest in BIM in spite of the pricey initial investment

Building information modeling (BIM): exploring level of development (LOD) in construction projects

Level of Development (LOD) is a protocol to address the basic guidelines information of Building Information Modeling (BIM). LOD is created to identify specific content requirements of a BIM model elements at a given time. It is used to reduce the problem of inadequate information needed in projects. This paper aims to explore the implementation of LOD in projects using BIM in the construction industry. In order to do so, the definition, purposes and content of each level of LOD had been identified based on past literature. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with BIM consultants from the public and private sector. The findings revealed that the implementation of LOD is varied depending on the requirements of construction players. From the use of LOD, it helps construction players to get the information that they need for a specific purpose in various project phases. The use of LOD in projects using BIM shows the capability and the level of understanding of construction players in using BI

Application of building information modelling (BIM) in design and build (D&B) projects in Malaysia

Design and Build (D&B) is one of the most suitable types of project delivery method that are being used to implement BIM. However, there is a lack of documented evidence to show on how BIM is being implemented in D&B project. This paper aims to explore the current practices of BIM in D&B projects in the Malaysian construction industry. A literature review was done to explore on application of BIM in construction projects and D&B project concept. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews with construction players were conducted as a primary data for this paper. The interviews were conducted with construction players that are currently involved and have experiences in D&B BIM projects. The findings revealed that the BIM process in D&B projects is much similar with activities in conventional D&B project. The differences were by the used of BIM software, the process of developing project design into a 3D model and the involvement of BIM related designation in the project. In addition to that, the process of BIM in D&B has been highlighted in this paper