The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Workplace

This is an Open Access book. Hoping to incubate a unique idea about workplace design, Dr. Agustin Chevez walked in isolation for 42 days from Melbourne to Sydney. His pilgrimage delivered 34 Signposts, a collection of insights which hold the promise to guide us to a better place to work. While firmly positioned within the shifting context of work, the Signposts point away from reactive solutions with a short shelf life. Instead, these markers are infused with a diversity of thought instilled by Agustin’s pilgrimage and reclaim the forgotten qualities of solitude, boredom, adversity, and absurdity as mechanisms to deliver innovation and create improved working environments. On his way to Sydney Agustin relied on maps and people with local knowledge of the lands he traversed. Similarly, in this book, he consults people with local knowledge in various design disciplines, management, and technology as he navigates the many regions of the workplace and work practices covered by the Signposts. When he reaches the end of the known trails, he starts laying paths that take us closer to where the Signposts converge. Agustin writes from the perspective of a pilgrim, architect, workplace consultant, and researcher and invites you to join him as a fellow pilgrim. You will be rewarded with a journey that revisits our assumptions about the way we use space to host the ever-evolving notion of work – an expedition leading not only to better versions of the workplace, but a better version of ourselves. “This book takes about three hours to read, and it could take a lifetime to fully extract all the benefits that it contains. This does not suggest that there are not immediate benefits available from reflecting on and applying the Signposts that are core to the book's intellectual contribution.” - Peer Review extrac

The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Workplace

This is an Open Access book. Hoping to incubate a unique idea about workplace design, Dr. Agustin Chevez walked in isolation for 42 days from Melbourne to Sydney. His pilgrimage delivered 34 Signposts, a collection of insights which hold the promise to guide us to a better place to work. While firmly positioned within the shifting context of work, the Signposts point away from reactive solutions with a short shelf life. Instead, these markers are infused with a diversity of thought instilled by Agustin’s pilgrimage and reclaim the forgotten qualities of solitude, boredom, adversity, and absurdity as mechanisms to deliver innovation and create improved working environments. On his way to Sydney Agustin relied on maps and people with local knowledge of the lands he traversed. Similarly, in this book, he consults people with local knowledge in various design disciplines, management, and technology as he navigates the many regions of the workplace and work practices covered by the Signposts. When he reaches the end of the known trails, he starts laying paths that take us closer to where the Signposts converge. Agustin writes from the perspective of a pilgrim, architect, workplace consultant, and researcher and invites you to join him as a fellow pilgrim. You will be rewarded with a journey that revisits our assumptions about the way we use space to host the ever-evolving notion of work – an expedition leading not only to better versions of the workplace, but a better version of ourselves. “This book takes about three hours to read, and it could take a lifetime to fully extract all the benefits that it contains. This does not suggest that there are not immediate benefits available from reflecting on and applying the Signposts that are core to the book's intellectual contribution.” - Peer Review extrac

Association of Researchers in Construction Management

Human error is embedded in every human endeavour. Given that research is conducted by humans, it is therefore prone to human error. This paper focuses on the errors that derive from transcribing data across formats. These "input" errors arise largely from the monotony of the data entry process and may mean that an otherwise thoroughly designed research can potentially produce misleading conclusions. The paper reports the results of a quality checking process developed to monitor the transcription of data from paper-based questionnaires, collected as part of current PhD research, into the computer. Following the same entry method, the data from all questionnaires received were input twice by the PhD candidate, then twice again by another participant. The 28,140 entries were matched and any differences analysed in order to quantify the occurrence of input errors committed and identify the nature of these errors. The results suggest that where the input errors were committed had more impact on the findings revealed from each question than the total number of input errors committed

National guidelines for digital modelling : case studies

These National Guidelines and Case Studies for Digital Modelling are the outcomes from one of a number of Building Information Modelling (BIM)-related projects undertaken by the CRC for Construction Innovation. Since the CRC opened its doors in 2001, the industry has seen a rapid increase in interest in BIM, and widening adoption. These guidelines and case studies are thus very timely, as the industry moves to model-based working and starts to share models in a new context called integrated practice. Governments, both federal and state, and in New Zealand are starting to outline the role they might take, so that in contrast to the adoption of 2D CAD in the early 90s, we ensure that a national, industry-wide benefit results from this new paradigm of working. Section 1 of the guidelines give us an overview of BIM: how it affects our current mode of working, what we need to do to move to fully collaborative model-based facility development. The role of open standards such as IFC is described as a mechanism to support new processes, and make the extensive design and construction information available to asset operators and managers. Digital collaboration modes, types of models, levels of detail, object properties and model management complete this section. It will be relevant for owners, managers and project leaders as well as direct users of BIM. Section 2 provides recommendations and guides for key areas of model creation and development, and the move to simulation and performance measurement. These are the more practical parts of the guidelines developed for design professionals, BIM managers, technical staff and ‘in the field’ workers. The guidelines are supported by six case studies including a summary of lessons learnt about implementing BIM in Australian building projects. A key aspect of these publications is the identification of a number of important industry actions: the need for BIMcompatible product information and a national context for classifying product data; the need for an industry agreement and setting process-for-process definition; and finally, the need to ensure a national standard for sharing data between all of the participants in the facility-development process

Space as a knowledge management tool

Organisations are increasingly starting to recognise that technology based competitive advantages are transient and that their employees' knowledge is possibly the only sustainable advantage they have. However, this competitive advantage is being compromised by retirement and more recently, by redundancies fuelled by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Capturing and documenting critical knowledge prior to a person departing the organisation is often a challenging task, particularly if leaving was not their choice. Today, the management of knowledge in organisations is led by technology. Technology however, is limited to the storage and transfer of data; knowledge can only exist in people's minds and it is best transferred through a social context. Geyer undertook research to better understand the role of space in supporting the management of knowledge in organisations. Findings suggest that despite its passive nature space plays an active role in the creation, storage and transfer of knowledge. This could imply that the best tool that organisations have to manage knowledge may be their workplace. For organisations to use space as a knowledge management tool the relationship between space and knowledge needs to be taken into consideration at the operational and strategic management level of the facility. Facility managers should ensure that the decisions taken to meet the occupants comfort levels and achieve the environmental and sustainable targets also enhance the capability to transfer knowledge within the organisation

Sources and effects of uncertainty in the management of construction projects: Federation Square

Construction projects have an unmatched level of expertise gained through thousands of years and boast an array of planning and controlling techniques. Still, many construction projects are frequently delayed. This research explores the sources and effects of uncertainty in construction projects as the ultimate reason for project delay. The thesis tested by this research was that projects can only be managed to a certain point due to uncertainty. Because of this limit to managing projects, they are frequently delayed in spite of the implementation of best practice in construction time performance and the effort put into projects by its managers and team members