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Full-Text Articles in Architecture
Measuring Construction: Prices, Output And Productivity, Rick Best, Jim Meikle
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
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
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
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 …