Dynamic scheduling model for the construction industry

Purpose:Basic project control through traditional methods is not sufficient to manage the majority of realtime events in most construction projects. This paper proposes a Dynamic Scheduling (DS) model that utilizes multi-objective optimization of cost, time, resources and cashflow, throughout project construction.Design/methodology/approach:Upon reviewing the topic of Dynamic Scheduling, a worldwide Internet survey with 364 respondents was conducted to define end-user requirements. The model was formulated and solution algorithms discussed. Verification was reported using predefined problem sets and a real-life case. Validation was performed via feedback from industry experts.Findings:The need for multi-objective dynamic software optimization of construction schedules and the ability to choose among a set of optimal alternatives were highlighted. Model verification through well-known test cases and a real-life project case study showed that the model successfully achieved the required dynamic functionality whether under the small solved example or under the complex case study. The model was validated for practicality, optimization of various DS schedule quality gates, ease of use, and software integration with contemporary project management practices.Practical/Social implications:Optimized real-time scheduling can provide better resources management including labour utilization and cost efficiency. Furthermore, DS contributes to optimum materials procurement, thus minimizing waste.Originality/value:The paper illustrates the importance of DS in construction, identifies the user needs, and overviews the development, verification and validation of a model that supports the generation of high quality schedules beneficial to large scale projects.</div

Developing construction management research: a balance of perspectives

Research development for construction management has recently received considerable attention by academia and major industry sponsors. A major motivation for these efforts include ensuring that research does not just achieve any outcomes, but also produces relevant outputs that can benefit all the interested parties associated with the research community. In particular, concerns expressed about the traditional quantitative orientation of construction management research has provoked a debate on the methodological issues within the field. As a result, the discipline is gradually witnessing a polarisation of research orientation into rational and interpretive schools of thought. This paper is an attempt to reconcile this current division in research orientation. It utilises an anecdotal approach to argue that the entrenched positions on research perspectives is not adequate for enhancing the development of the field of construction management. It presents an option where both perspectives complement each other to produce a more balanced outcome for academic research. It concludes by posing the question, Is it time to define the boundaries of construction management so that its research development can be appropriately addressed

Defining an AEC research agenda - a vision from the UK

This paper outlines the current research agenda for construction, as seen from a UK perspective, and the associated government initiatives. It then presents a vision of how design and construction will be undertaken and the implications for the management of this activity, structured around four themes of management, technology, the role of clients and the role of industry and the professions. The research activity of the Department and relevant staff are outlined and the paper concludes with a brief description of how we are taking forward our industrially based research

Towards effective client procurement: assessing contractor risk with financial ratios

Evaluation of the contractor by client organisations forms a very crucial part of the client's procurement strategy for construction services. Current practice in undertaking such an evaluation often employs factors that are directly project-related. More important in this regard is the overriding influence of the tender price as a criterion for contractor selection. In the prevailing business climate within construction, the need for such an evaluation to take on board the susceptibility of the contractor's whole organisation to financial insolvency is apparent. This should allow for a clear awareness of the risk of engaging the services of a particular contractor by the client. The paper reviews various financial measures and tools that have been developed, or found application in the risk evaluation of enterprises. It puts forward a case for the incorporation of some of these tools in assessing the overall risk associated with the client's engagement of the services of a particular contractor

Learning techniques employed by construction contractors' organisations

This paper describes current research within the Department of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University into learning practices within UK Construction Companies. The need to understand how companies learn and accelerate the learning process is greater today than ever before. Companies that stop learning, also stop improving and may run the risk of eventually going out of business. As such, organisations are paying more attention to the concept of corporate learning in order to increase their competitive advantage, and ability to innovate so that they can sustain continuous improvement. The research forms part of a larger theme of improving strategic management practices of construction organisations. By focusing on the organic learning styles and learning mechanisms, the research addresses how construction organisations can employ these options to enhance the strategic process. The paper suggests that continuous improvement in construction companies requires a learning culture

Future labour recruitment strategies for the British construction industry

Construction is a labour-intensive industry, which places heavy reliance upon the skills of its workforce. The future supply of construction skills depends on the recruitment of young entrants together with some upgrading of semi-skilled operatives to skilled jobs. The declining number of young people available to enter employment, however, has considerable implications for the construction industry, particularly in the search for eligible recruits to train for future skill requirements. Against this background, this paper highlights how construction employers will need to adopt alternative training and recruitment strategies if they to avoid future skills shortages. These strategies will need to be tailored for a particular region, taking account of the demand for labour, brought about by growth in construction output and the availability of alternative sources of labour, including the long-tern unemployed, women and ethnic minorities

Dynamics of learning for advancing improvement in organisations within the construction industry

Continuous improvement has become an ever present reality to construction organisations in their quest for improved performance and sustained competitive advantage. One major issue that infers great consequence in a changing business environment is the styles organisations employ to address improvement in their enterprises. This is becoming significantly important as one of the factors driving continuous improvement. As a result, calls have been made to adopt a culture of learning as part of an organisation’s core competence for all improvement schemes. Today’s highly successful companies are differentiated from others not so much by any single set of their knowledge, but equally, by their ability to learn as corporate entities. This paper explores the dynamics of learning by examining the styles organisations engage to address their improvement. The paradigms involved in the styles of organisational learning provide useful lessons for understanding and undertaking continuous improvement schemes in construction organisations. The paper adopts these lessons to evolve a framework within which continuous improvement schemes desired in construction industry should take place

Empirical investigation of construction contractors' organizational learning

Conceptual frameworks dominate organizational learning literature with limited empirical assessments. This raises several questions about the validity and applicability of the various conceptual frameworks for how managers can build organizational learning capabilities. As such, lessons from the conceptual frameworks of organizational learning for addressing performance improvement that might have been used by construction contractors have been limited. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of organizational learning by construction contractors. The principles that underlie organizational learning and the factors that promote double-loop learning as a strategy for improving construction contractors’ business processes are presented. The paper has also established the learning orientations and focus of the surveyed construction contractors to determine their organizational learning dimensions as well as the factors that induced their double-loop learning, as rich lessons for organizations in the construction industry

Learning mechanisms employed by construction contractors

This paper introduces concepts of organizational learning and how they relate to construction contractors. It also presents the results of a survey conducted to establish the learning practices of construction contractors that operated in the United Kingdom and focuses on the use of learning mechanisms that help corporate establishments address their need for continuous improvement. The results show a low use of various forms of learning mechanisms and provide a general insight into learning practices of construction contractors surveyed. It also sheds light as to why construction contractors may be described as slow in adapting to their changing business environment. The paper urges construction contractors to move forward into a culture of learning to increase their ability to innovate and ensure continuous improvement demanded in today's dynamic business environment