Architecture Commons^™

Better Infrastructure Procurement For Public Private Partnerships: An Australian Perspective, Michael Regan, Jim Smith, Peter Love

Michael Regan

Public private partnerships (PPP) are a method for the delivery of social and economic infrastructure services in over 80 countries worldwide. PPPs are a contractual arrangement between public and private entities through which the skills, assets and/or financial resources of both sectors are allocated in such a manner that provides optimal service delivery and good value to society. Central to the operation of public private partnerships is the systematic evaluation of the procurement options available to government, an output specification to encourage private design, risk transfer, construction and operational innovation, the detailed analysis of projects over their operational lifecycle, a …

Quantity Surveyors Without Borders - Providing Cost Advice In A Global Construction Market, Rick Best

Rick Best

Providing sound advice on construction costs across national boundaries requires special care. It is seldom sufficient to look up a suitable cost/m2 rate in a price book and then apply the current exchange rate. There are three main issues here: one relates to the reliability of the price data, another to differences in design in different places and the third to the method used to bring costs in different currencies to a common base. Different sources of cost data can suggest very different rates and money market exchange rates provide nothing more than a snapshot of relative prices at one …

Measuring Construction: Prices, Output And Productivity, Rick Best, Jim Meikle

Rick Best

Despite the size, complexity and importance of the construction industry, there has been little study to date which focuses on the challenge of drawing reliable conclusions from the available data. The accuracy of industry reports has an impact on government policy, the direction and outcomes of research and the practices of construction firms, so confusion in this area can have far reaching consequences. In response to this, Measuring Construction looks at fundamental economic theories and concepts with respect to the construction industry, and explains the merits and shortcomings, sometimes by looking at real life examples.

The International Comparison Program And Purchasing Power Parities For Construction, Rick Best, Jim Meikle

Rick Best

Extract: It is not uncommon to hear or read statements that suggest that people in some countries are living on just a couple dollars a day. "How can they survive?" we ask ourselves. The answer is that price levels are different between countries, and that is very much the case between wealthy industrialized nations and poorer developing countries. If one earns five local dollars a day and it costs only two to live, then survival at least is possible. The inconsistency lies in the use of money market exchange rates to convert amounts of money to the same currency and …

Setting The Scene, Jim Meikle, Rick Best

Rick Best

Extract: Peter Drucker, a prolific writer on various aspects of management, is often erroneously cited as the originator of the phrase, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it". Exactly where the phrase came from is unknown, but the idea remains valid. Measuring construction in the sense of measuring quantities of building work is a well-established technical process carried out routinely by quantity surveyors and estimators, and in many places there are agreed-upon rules and procedures that are used for such work. Measuring construction industries or parts of those industries is another matter. While there must have been construction …

International Construction Cost Comparisons, Rick Best, Jim Meikle

Rick Best

Extract: Comparisons of the cost of construction across national boundaries have been routinely undertaken for many years for a variety of purposes. For clients, the reason may be as simple as wanting to know how much it will cost them in their own national currency to build a facility in another country; for governments and other agencies, it may be about how competitive their industry is in a global marketplace. For example, in 1949, a UK group, the Building Industry Productivity Team, visited the US (Anglo-American Council on Productivity 1950). A primary purpose of the visit was to compare the …

Grey Forecasting Of Construction Demand In Hong Kong Over The Next Ten Years, Yongtao Tan, Craig Langston, Min Wu, Jorge Ochoa

Craig Langston

The Hong Kong construction industry since 1997 has experienced a difficult time in regard to construction output until recently. The future of the local construction industry remains uncertain. Forecasting of future development would be attractive to parties in the industry. Based on past data of the local construction industry, a grey forecasting model is developed to predict the annual growth of construction demand for Hong Kong over the next ten years. With the implementation of ten large infrastructure projects and further collaboration with the Pearl River Delta region, there will be many potential opportunities for the local industry, especially in …

Internationalization Of The Construction Industry, Weisheng Lu, Huan Yang, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Extract: With the globalization of the world economy, today’s construction business is fast becoming an internationally interdependent marketplace. Construction yields on the order of USD4.6 trillion annually and contributed 6.6% to the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 (Davis Langdon 2012). A significant part of that total is attributable to international contractors. With the rise of modern industrialized countries, more and more complex civil engineering projects are being procured, and the increased scale of these projects has provided a launching pad for international construction. For instance, data published by Engineering New-Record (ENR) shows that ENR’s top 225 international contractors …

Performance Measures For Construction, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Extract: The global construction industry is highly competitive, fragmented and cyclical and frequently operates on low margins (Loosemore 2003). Yet construction accounts for a significant portion of economic activity and is a catalyst for many other sectors. The industry is also labour intensive and project specific and involves team relationships that form and disband on a regular basis. It is not surprising, therefore, that construction performance and reform have dominated research within the industry for more than 50 years.

Refining The Citibloc Index, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Extract: The previous chapter investigated the performance of selected high-rise construction projects completed between 2003 and 2012 in the five largest cities in Australia and the United States. Part of this research required the conversion of cost data into a comparable form. Cost conversion is critical to international performance comparisons. A reliable method for doing this is necessary. Purchasing power parity (PPP) is generally accepted as the appropriate philosophy, but there are a number of detailed approaches for determining indices. Which one should be used? How can we be sure that cost conversion using currency exchange rates is unreliable? How …

Measuring Good Architecture: Long Life, Loose Fit, Low Energy, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Good architecture is something that we all seek, but which is difficult to define. Sir Alexander John Gordon, in his role as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, defined ‘good architecture’ in 1972 as buildings that exhibit ‘long life, loose fit and low energy’. These characteristics, nicknamed by Gordon as the 3L Principle, are measurable. Furthermore, life cycle cost (LCC) provides a method for accessing the economic contribution or burden created by buildings to the society they aim to serve. Yet there is no research available to investigate the connection, if any, between 3L and LCC. It might …

Identifiying Adaptive Reuse Potential, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

How to adapt existing building stock is a problem being addressed by local and state governments worldwide. In most developed countries we now spend more on building adaptation than on new construction and there is an urgent need for greater knowledge and awareness of what happens to commercial buildings over time.

Sustainable Building Adaptation: innovations in decision-making is a significant contribution to understanding best practice in sustainable adaptations to existing commercial buildings by offering new knowledge-based theoretical and practical insights. Models used are grounded in results of case studies conducted within three collaborative construction project team settings in Australia and …

Il Calcolo Del Sviluppo Umano, Nicolás Persico

Nicolás Persico

Dinamica sociale e contratto socio economico: quando un sociologo, fisico, ingegnere e finanziario si incontrano.

Starting From Scratch: New Construction For The Newer Professional, Von Stange Ed.D.

Von Stange, Ed.D.

Housing construction has many concepts that are foreign to the newer professional. This presentation highlights definitions, concepts, and timelines associated with new construction. This program was presented with Derek Jackson, Director of Housing and Dining Services at Kansas State University.

Benchmarking Public Private Partnership Environments: East Asian Comparisons, Michael Regan, Jim Smith, Peter Love

Michael Regan

The Public Private Partnerships (PPP) markets in Australia and the UK are considered to be the most sophisticated in the World and used as a model for benchmarking against other countries. In addition the global financial crisis also meant many PPP financiers became risk averse to certain projects and in particular countries. The environment for major infrastructure projects, particularly in ‘riskier’ countries, has become more difficult. Research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the Asian Development Bank evaluated PPP policy and programs in a number of countries in the Asia Pacific. The study benchmarks the UK and Australian PPP …

A Casual [Causal] Relationship Between Building Maintenance Market And Gdp: Hong Kong Study, Yong-Tao Tan, Liyin Shen, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between the building maintenance market and GDP in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach: The Granger causality test is used to investigate the lead-lag relationships between the maintenance and repair work and GDP in Hong Kong. With regression analysis, the future trend of the maintenance market is forecasted. Findings: The results show that the growth of the economy will lead to the growth of the maintenance market, not vice-versa. And the building maintenance market in Hong Kong will keep increasing with the economy growth. Originality/value: This paper shows that the growth …

Contractors' Competition Strategies In Bidding: Hong Kong Study, Yongtao Tan, Liyin Shen, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Selecting an appropriate competition strategy in bidding is the ambition of most contractors. The multiple requirements of clients encourage contractors to consider other strategies to deliver additional benefits besides offering a low-price bid. Offering low bids will reduce contractors' profits and potentially make development less attractive. Contractors need to understand their specific resources that generate competitive advantage and accordingly develop strategies to win contracts. This paper reports the findings from a recent survey on competition strategies in the Hong Kong construction industry. Thirteen typical bidding strategies, their used frequency in bidding, and their effectiveness for winning contracts of different types …

Construction Project Selection Using Fuzzy Topsis Approach, Young-Tao Tan, Li-Yin Shen, Craig Langston, Yan Liu

Craig Langston

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce a quantitative method for assisting contractors to select appropriate projects for bidding by considering multiple attributes and integrating decision group member opinions.

Design/methodology/approach - The fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is used to help contractors make decision on project selection and the linguistic terms are defined for representing the triangular fuzzy numbers for ratings of alternatives and weights of criteria.

Findings - The selection of appropriate projects for bidding is a multiple attribute group decision-making exercise. In a real decision process, there are …

Extending The Project Management Skillset To Encompass Change Implementation, Lynn Crawford

Lynn Crawford

Project management standards address change control but are largely silent on change implementation. As the majority of projects involve some degree of organizational or behavioural change, and as project management is now applied to implementation of organisational changes as a specific project type, extension of coverage to recognise specific activities and competencies involved in effective change implementation should be considered in review of project management standards. As input to such a review, this paper presents results of research investigating the project and change implementation practices used, in practice, on projects requiring varying degrees of organizational and behavioural change.

Comparing Apples With Apples: Aligning Project Management Capability With Corporate Strategy, Lynn Crawford

Lynn Crawford

It makes little sense for an organization to invest in project management systems that are not directly suited to the nature of their business yet they need some form of guidance to tell them what good looks like. Generic project management maturity models can be a useful starting point but they take no account of differences in context and using them is like comparing apples with oranges. This paper presents results of research that investigates differences in strategic drivers and associated project management practices and outcomes between industries. Results of this research provide input to development of more compelling and …

A Vision For A Longer-Term Future: From Project Managers To “Synthesists”?, Alan Stretton, Lynn Crawford

Lynn Crawford

This paper first gives a snapshot of how some articulate contributors to a broader future-oriented non-management literature perceive the growth of specialization of avocations/ professions. A primary drawback is seen to be a resultant lack of people who are fluent in the language of many different disciplines, and who have the ability to expertly integrate them to achieve broader societal goals – i.e. “synthesists”.Project managers essentially integrate the contributions of many varied disciplines to achieve beneficial outcomes. Therefore project management appears to be extremely well placed to broaden its perspectives, and to develop and consolidate a role as “synthesists” in …

Exploring The Intersection Of Project And Change Management, Lynn Crawford, Alicia Aitken, Anat Hassner-Nahmias

Lynn Crawford

The intersection of change and project management is attracting interest from both practitioners and researchers because, in a rapidly changing and evolving environment, an organization’s ability to change itself has become critical to strategic performance. Much of the responsibility for organizational change rests in the hands of general management but devolution of parts of this responsibility to specific change management roles is occurring and there is widespread acceptance of projects and programs as organizing frameworks for change initiatives. However, the fields of project and change management rest on different foundations and have developed in different directions. Although project and program …

A Fuzzy Approach For Assessing Contractors Competitiveness, Yongtao Tan, Li-Yen Shen, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Purpose – Proper assessment of contractors' competitiveness is important for assisting contractors in taking internal analysis and for assisting clients in selecting suitable contractors. This paper seeks to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach – With previously identified contractor key competitiveness indicators (KCIs), this study presents a fuzzy competitiveness rating (FCR) method for measuring contractor competitiveness with reference to the Hong Kong construction industry. A set of linguistic terms is used for facilitating the assessment process.

Findings – For illustration, an example is used to show the application of the FCR method. The results provide valuable information for helping contractors in the …

Impact Of The Capital Market Collapse On Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Projects, Michael Regan, Jim Smith, Peter Love

Michael Regan

The collapse of capital markets is having an impact of the funding arrangements for economic and social infrastructure projects in Australia. Bearing this in mind, this paper seeks to examine whether the current volatility and uncertainty in capital markets in Australia affects the feasibility of privately financed infrastructure and specifically the public-private partnership PPP method of procurement. This paper examines the role and dependency that capital markets play in funding PPPs, current market conditions, and how they will affect PPP viability. In addition, alternative funding and procurement mechanisms that can be used for short- and medium-term infrastructure deliveries are presented.

Comparing Construction Costs Between Countries, Rick Best

Rick Best

This is a somewhat unusual book, in the context of the books found in contemporary construction management and construction economics. It is neither a textbook nor a guide to any of the many and varied functions and tasks of construction managers and construction economists. Instead it is a collection of chapters all of which are concerned in different ways with the question of how we analyse and understand the industry.

Workplace Strategies And Facilities Management: Building In Value, Rick Best, Craig Langston, Gerard De Valence

Craig Langston

This book provides comprehensive coverage of issues that facility managers in the property industry need to understand and apply in the pursuit of value for money over the life span of built facilities. The authors introduce the fast-growing discipline of facility management, examine the core competencies that facility managers should possess and study different contemporary drivers of change. The book emphasises the need to consider facilities management issues at the pre-design stage of the construction process, rather than only when the building is completed, in order to maximise value for money.

Evaluation Of Construction Contractor Performance: A Critical Analysis Of Some Recent Research, Rick Best, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

International comparisons of construction industry performance are notoriously difficult. A recent comparative study, extensive in scope and using an innovative approach, is reviewed and questions raised regarding various aspects of the methodology adopted, the validity of the conclusions drawn and manner in which outcomes were reported. Particular areas of concern include the unequivocal statement of conclusions that are based on a small sample, and the use of data from that sample that are, in fact, no more than estimates of project performance. Attention is drawn to the limitations of the research reported and the reliability of the methods used, and …

Exploring Intersectoral Linkages Between Real Estate And Construction, Yu Song, Chunlu Liu, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Even though linkages have attracted a lot of research interest, few researchers focus on the intersectoral linkages between two specific sectors. This research therefore proposes an indirect intersectoral linkage measure model to explore linkages between the real estate and construction sectors using the Hypothetical Extraction Method (HEM). Using the OECD input-output tables, the direct, total intersectoral linkages and the proposed indirect intersectoral linkages are explored and tested respectively for seven OECD countries over twenty years. The findings describe that the intersectoral linkages from construction to real estate are larger than those from real estate to construction. The statistical testing results …

Critical Foundations: Providing Australia’S 21st Century Infrastructure, Michael Regan

Michael Regan

Extract:

Infrastructure is undoubtedly the least understood of the major asset classes in Australia. A tradition of public ownership and operation, its status as a public good and a lack of information about its investment characteristics in both public and private hands has contributed to limited recognition of its role in national and regional economies. However, this situation is changing. A coincidence of political, economic and financial events in the lead up to the worldwide economic recession of the late 1980s and Australia's microeconomic reforms of the 1990s b[r]ought into sharper focus the central role that infrastructure plays in both …

The Development Of A Bim Based Building Measurement Learning Tool, Rick Best

Rick Best

The paper discusses the development of an integrated tool for teaching and learning building measurement. A 3D CAD IFC-compliant building information model of a small two-storey residential building was created complete with electrical and hydraulic services and all specification information using Archicad. A complete bill of quantities was measured from the BIM using Buildsoft, and exported to Microsoft Office. The exported dimensions and quantities were used to produce a fully annotated version of the BQ.

The outcome is a package comprising a CD-ROM and a conventional book. The CD containing the BIM, the Buildsoft files, a 3D model viewer and …