Labour Productivity in the New Zealand Construction Industry: A Thorough Investigation

Productivity growth is strongly correlated to economic growth and increases in welfare. This fact also holds true at the industry level and is particularly true in the NZ construction industry, since productivity growth in this sector may have significant effects on the affordability of housing in the country. In recent years construction in NZ has been subjected to a series of reports that have either highlighted ‘failure’ to grow productivity or have exhorted the industry to improve its ‘poor performance’.  However thus far little by way of analysis has gone into the productivity figures that have been quoted, nor has much been done to explain and justify if or why these figures are correct or incorrect.This research seeks to deconstruct construction productivity figures in NZ and explain the patterns over recent years of ‘poor performance’ in comparison with other industries.  As such it will examine the nature of the NZ construction industry and analyse the historic statistics related to its labour productivity. This will provide an overall understanding of the sector as well as those extraneous factors that may have significant influences on the NZ construction sector.The research found that while factors influencing inputs of labour productivity measure such as labour and material costs remained stable, factors impacting the corresponding outputs such as house and land prices, value of work in Non-residential and Infrastructure construction grew significantly between 1997 and 2007. Given the positive skewing effect of standard economic indicators (inflation etc) on construction labour productivity figures, the relatively poor performance of construction is worrying for the industry. The paper concludes by demonstrating labour productivity in construction is significantly worse performing than previously suspected

Client’s championing characteristics that promote construction innovation

Purpose: clients or users of products, processes or services are being identified as potential sources of innovation in construction. There are concerns on the degree of innovation within the construction industry, despite having potential to be innovative. The role that can be played by the construction client to promote innovation in the industry is well documented. However, lack of knowledge on the desirable characteristics of the construction client was identified as one of the barriers for the construction client to be an effective innovation promoter. Accordingly, the paper evaluates the characteristics of the construction client that promotes innovation. Research Methodology: the multiple holistic case studies were used as the research strategy and semi-structured interviews were used as the principal data collection technique. Code-based content analysis and cognitive mapping were used to analyse the interviews. Data analysis was supported by two computer aided software namely NVivo and Decision explorer. Findings: clients can increase the efficiency of work carried out towards the construction process, stimulate team dynamics and team action through the championing characteristics which in turn can strengthen the innovation process that lead to the innovative product. Being a team player, promoting respect for people, and knowledge and information dissemination are identified as constituents of the championing characteristics of clients that promote innovation in construction projects. The personal skills of clients such as competence, value judgement, flexibility, and self motivation will energise the success of the championing characteristics. Originality/value: the client characteristics identified from the study widen the knowledge base of the client to successfully engage in construction innovation

SHAVING BIM: ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE BIM RESEARCH IN NEW ZEALAND

This paper reviews and analyses issues relating to the uptake of BIM in the NZ construction industry. There have been few BIM applications in NZ; in particular, in post-construction phases like facilities management, there is none. The paper found that the three reasons why BIM has not been widely accepted and used in New Zealand are: the slow uptake by NZ construction companies; a lack of Kiwi-focused BIM initiatives (led by the government and industry bodies); and a lack of BIM-based building life cycle considerations. Therefore, the paper concludes that there is an urgent need for a joint research programme in NZ to develop a Kiwi-oriented knowledge base on BIM. Given the fact that all major research organisations currently have development plans in their pipelines, coupled with potential developments of the Christchurch Cit after the quake, it seems an ideal time to take a BIM-based research initiative in the country. This joint BIM- focused research programme should concentrate on construction management processes, including procurement management, contract management, information management, as well as post-construction aspects such as facility management

A rank order of determinants of construction organisation's performance in New Zealand

There are certain factors within and outside organisations that can influence organisational performance. The presence or absence of those factors impacts organisations' ability to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. As a risk-prone business sector, construction organisations need to identify those determinants that could ensure their superior performance. To date, global studies have identified many determinants that govern the performance of construction organisations. However, few of these are known in New Zealand, and their weightings could be useful in forming business strategies. Therefore, this paper measures the significance of identified determinants of construction organisational performance. A total of 100 professionals participated in a questionnaire survey administered using a snowball sampling technique. The Relative Importance Index approach was used to rank the determinants according to their importance to organisational performance. Five main determinants were significant and ranked highly, with more than 80% relative importance index scores. These determinants are resources and capabilities, competitive strategies, organisational characteristics, environmental factors, and customers relationship management. This finding provides a useful benchmark for future research on the significance of some determinants that could explain the performance differentials experienced in the construction domain in New Zealand

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

Health and well-being are vitally important aspects of people centric building design and are the roots of productivity. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a collection of factors that can negatively affect physical health in several ways. Besides physical health is also related to psychological well-being because the human body is one interactive biological system. This paper focuses on reviewing the current state of knowledge on building sickness syndrome which has been prevalent as a building illness since the 1970s especially in offices and schools. While the concepts of intelligent, smart and sustainable buildings have gained considerable attention during recent decades, there is now increasing attention being given to designing healthy buildings. This study provides a review about SBS symptoms. Several negative effects of SBS are identified and potential solutions are advocated. Finally, the study stresses the role of built environment and concludes that ongoing research towards tackling SBS and developing healthy indoor environments should not be limited to a single formula as any health-related building design approach is dependent on several interacting factors

DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH IN NEW ZEALAND: A REAL OPTIONS PERSPECTIVE

Real Options (RO) has been a universally accepted concept in a number of major industries. However, its use in the construction supply chain management (CSCM) sector has been limited. Some rare supply chain management RO studies have shown a number of limitations. First, there is a lack of a rigorous theoretical RO framework pertaining specifically to CSCM. All such supply chain management RO studies are based off RO theories or models developed for other sectors (engineering, infrastructure, natural resources). And second, attempts to extend real option to wider uses in CSCM seem premature at the present. This paper reviews all recent literature pertaining to real options and real options applied specifically to the construction supply chain management area. The study proposes a research programme pertaining to CSCM in New Zealand in order to enhance the current understanding of RO in this area and in the process develop a comprehensive theory for the RO application in New Zealand CSCM

Logistics simulation modelling across construction supply chains

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a logistical analysis of construction supply chains by assessing the impact of varying demand on the performance of builders' merchants' logistics. Design/methodology/approach - Taking into consideration that the vast majority of construction materials are distributed through intermediary organisations, the paper focuses on the logistics of builders' merchants. The study follows a field study approach to develop a conceptual logistics model facilitating experimentation using simulation modelling. Findings - The paper highlights the importance of incorporating intermediary organisations in the study of construction supply chains and reveals the implications of varying demand on logistics performance related to inventory and transportation costs. Research limitations/implications - In order to limit assumptions associated with individual company characteristics, the sample has included data from one builder's merchant company. To allow external benchmarking, the suggested approach has to be applied to a wider sample. Practical implications - The paper provides a practical understanding in terms of the function of intermediary organisations in construction supply chains and the application of logistics management in construction. Originality/value - Considering the complexity involved in construction supply chain operations, the value of this research is twofold. First, the research contributes to an interdisciplinary approach to the study of construction supply chains and second, provides a risk-free environment for modelling supply chain cost performance. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved