The impact of contractor selection method on transaction costs: a review

The basic premise of transaction-cost theory is that the decision to outsource, rather than to undertake work in-house, is determined by the relative costs incurred in each of these forms of economic organization. In construction the "make or buy" decision invariably leads to a contract. Reducing the costs of entering into a contractual relationship (transaction costs) raises the value of production and is therefore desirable. Commonly applied methods of contractor selection may not minimise the costs of contracting. Research evidence suggests that although competitive tendering typically results in the lowest bidder winning the contract this may not represent the lowest project cost after completion. Multi-parameter and quantitative models for contractor selection have been developed to identify the best (or least risky) among bidders. A major area in which research is still needed is in investigating the impact of different methods of contractor selection on the costs of entering into a contract and the decision to outsource

Cultural cues and behavioural patterns in stress dynamics: a case of the construction industry

CIB W099 and TG59 Conference: Coping with the Complexity of Safety, Health, and Wellbeing in ConstructionCritical factors underpinning stress development in the Construction Industry were investigated in an ethnographic study. Data were collected from three construction organizations in the UK and analysed by content analysis. The results show the pivotal importance of interpersonal relationships to coping with the uncertainty of working conditions, coordination of activities involving teamwork and managing responsibilities and power interactions. The study underlines the importance of dedicated services for stress management and specific trainingrelated abilities devoted to reinforcing positive dynamics between persons and organizations. In particular, these related to managing the impacts of stress on physical status, interpersonal relationships, work performance, and emotional well-being. Communication systems, tools and software and their application were also claimed to have been carefully implemented as effective stress deterrents in the management of daily routine activities.CI

A case study of joint procurement and provision of legal services to a group of a universities in the midlands

A Group of 5 UK Universities in the Midlands undertook a joint procurement process for the provision of Legal Services. The objective was to put in place common Framework Agreements. The Legal Services procured were divided into six lots and one of these was 'Property and Construction'. The lots were assembled into three packages and the contract for each package was awarded to one or more Service Providers. Albeit a service provider is to work for all the collaborating Universities. A competitive 'restricted' two-stage tender process was administered in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, SI 2006/5. The Framework Agreements were awarded in 2012 to the most economically advantageous Solicitors' Practices. The participating Universities are being interviewed about the reasons for the joint procurement exercise, any challenges faced in its implementation and lessons learnt so far. Two interviews have been conducted so far and evaluated via content analysis to reveal that advantages to be gained from 'economy of scale' were the main impetus for the collaborative procurement. The negotiations between the Universities which led to the establishment of the collaboration and its subsequent sustenance have been friendly. The challenge identified so far concerns how to distribute work more fairly to legal services providers

Framing stress and associated behaviours at work: an ethnography study in the United Kingdom

Aim: The purpose is to understand more precisely the culture and interpersonal behaviours associated with stress. Methods: The research was conducted using a qualitative approach through an ethnographic methodology in relation to three companies. The greater part of the data collection period was structured into observations that ranged between 2 and 4 hours per day, 1 to 3 days per week, for a period of 6 months. A total of 10 sites were explored; and on each site, the observations involved activities by 5 to 20 people. Findings: The results showed the pivotal importance of interpersonal relationships in coping with the uncertainty of working conditions, the coordination of team-work, and managing responsibilities and power interactions. It was found that the impact of stress is multifaceted, affecting the physical status, interpersonal relationships, work performance, and emotional wellbeing of construction workers. The workers who were studied emphasised five sources of support that help moderate work-related stress: additional tools such as communication systems and software, a facilitated access to professional help (e.g. psychological services), organisational changes in leadership, provision of resources for the wellbeing of personnel (e.g. job training) and better teamwork. Practical implications: The study underlines the importance of dedicated services for stress management and specific training-related abilities devoted to reinforcing positive person-organization dynamics. In particular, the abilities should relate to managing the impact of stress in terms of physique, interpersonal relationships, work performance, and emotional well-being. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to adopt a psychological perspective for understanding construction scenarios and phenomena and was conducted by a qualified psychologist.EU Horizon 2020/ Marie Curie. INSTINCT Project (EU Individual Fellowship

Stress and Coping Strategies: A Correlational Analysis to Profiling Maladaptive Behaviors at Work

Abstract of presentation delivered at the International Conference on Cybernetics (ICC), 23rd-24th May 2019, Barcelona.Introduction: Workers in different sectors are prone to stress at varying levels. They also respond to stress in different ways. An inspiration was to study stress development amongst workers in a work dangerous setting (Construction Industry) as well as how they cope with specific stress incidences. Objective: The overarching objective of the study was to study and correlate between stress and coping strategies. The research was conducted in an organizational industrial setting, and its findings on the coping actions of construction workers are reported in this article. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted with 80 participants aged 18-62. These were working for three different construction organizations in the West Midland region of the UK. Their coping actions were assessed using the COPE Inventory (Carver, 2013) instrument while the level of stress was assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1994). Results: Out of 80 workers (20 female, 25%, mean age 40.66), positive reinterpretation (M=4.15, SD=2.60) and active coping (M=4.18, SD=2.55) were the two most adaptive strategies reported by the workers while the most frequent maladaptive behavior was mental disengagement (M=3.62, SD=2.25). Among the maladaptive tactics, alcohol and drug abuse was a significant moderator in stress reactions (t=6.12, p=.000). Conclusion: Some maladaptive strategies are adopted by construction workers to cope with stress. So, it could be argued that programs of stress prevention and control in the construction industry have a basis to develop solutions that can improve and strengthen effective interventions when workers are stressed or getting stressed.Silvia Riva is a Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellow and acknowledges support from the EC project H2020-MSCA-IF-2015/H2020-MSCA-IF-2015, Grant Agreement: 703236 – ‘Inhibiting Stress in the Construction Industry’ (INSTINCT). This abstract and poster are part of the on-going INSTINCT project, and the authors are grateful for the Marie Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship grant which informed this dissemination

Cognition, heuristics, and biases behind environmental related behaviours

© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30179-1We read with great interest Matthieu Guitton and Julien Poitras published in The Lancet Planetary Health, and we would like to reinforce the importance of environmental education for health professionals

The implementation of stakeholder management and building information modelling (BIM) in UK construction projects

Proceedings from 34th ARCOM annual conference 2018.The implementation and usage of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on construction projects affects procurement and the supply chain activities. BIM process is changing the traditional modus operandi of the construction industry where many projects have failed to achieve its objectives due to ineffective stakeholder management. An on-going PhD study explores how to mitigate delays and conflicts between stakeholders on BIM implemented projects in the UK. This paper is based on critical literature review and primary data collection through semi-structured interviews. Findings from the literature review show that BIM publication such as PAS 1192-2:2013, Employers Information Requirements (EIR) and BIM Execution Plan (BEP) sets out clear requirements for the coordination and collaboration process for the BIM model production. This provides a huge potential to enhance and facilitate communication among stakeholders. This helps in mitigating conflicts among stakeholders. The findings from the interviewees shows that BIM can help project teams to proactively satisfy stakeholders by engaging them early on in the construction process and seek solutions to avoid or minimise delays and conflicts. The paper concludes that it has culture, trust, people, technology, communication and structures are at its core for managing stakeholders within BIM projects.University of Wolverhampto

The impact of compensation on public construction workers' retention in Jigawa state of Nigeria

Compensation is the remuneration workers receive for their services or contributions to an organisation. Extant literature points to the fact that compensation packages have relationships with job retention. A study established a theoretical framework based on the equity theory and used it to examine how compensation influences workers’ retention. The aim of this research was to investigate the impacts of compensation on retention among public sector construction workers in Jigawa state of Nigeria. The Positivist paradigm guided this empirical research. A questionnaire was developed, pilot-tested and administered to gather data on workers’ retention regarding four compensable aspects, namely: salary, allowances, gratuity and pension. A total of 265 questionnaires were administered and 260 were collected, representing a response rate of 98%. The respondents were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. The data collected was analysed using both descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modelling SEM. The Structural Equation Modelling established that pension and gratuity do positively and significantly influence public construction workers’ retention in Jigawa state, Nigeria. The study focused on the public construction sector of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Therefore, the findings cannot be extended to the whole country

The influence of compensation on public construction workers’ motivation in Jigawa state of Nigeria

Compensation is the remuneration workers receive for their services or contributions to an organisation. Extant literature points to the fact that compensation packages have relationships with job motivation. A study established a theoretical framework based on the equity theory and used it to examine how compensation influences workers’ attraction, retention, motivation and job satisfaction. This paper concentrates on the connection between compensation and workers’ motivation. The Positivist paradigm guided this empirical research. A questionnaire was developed, pilot-tested and administered to gather data on workers’ motivation regarding four compensable aspects, namely: salary, allowances, gratuity and pension. A total of 265 questionnaires were administered and 260 were collected, representing a response rate of 98%. The respondents were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. The data collected was analysed using both descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modelling SEM. The Structural Equation Modelling established that allowance and gratuity do positively and significantly influence public construction workers’ motivation in Jigawa state, Nigeria. The study focused on the public construction sector of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Therefore, the findings cannot be extended to the whole country