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13 pages, 3109 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Survey of Environmental Performance Enhancement Strategies and Building Data Capturing Techniques in the Nigerian Context

by Osamudiamen Meek Omoragbon, Sura Al-Maiyah and Paul Coates

Buildings 2023, 13(2), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020452 - 7 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1715

Abstract

The need to improve the performance of Nigeria’s office buildings is due to, energy challenges, increasing population, changing user needs, and climate change. With the expansion of several Nigerian cities, existing buildings constitute a significant portion of the building stock, and improving their [...] Read more.

The need to improve the performance of Nigeria’s office buildings is due to, energy challenges, increasing population, changing user needs, and climate change. With the expansion of several Nigerian cities, existing buildings constitute a significant portion of the building stock, and improving their environmental performance could be more cost-effective than reconstruction. The use of simulation packages to assess alternative retrofitting enhancement scenarios is a straightforward approach. However, in Nigeria it is often challenging to get appropriate information to facilitate this type of evaluation; many buildings were not built to their original specifications, and when available, the records are often in a poor state due to deterioration. Studies that aimed at enhancing a building’s performance hardly stated the acquisition of the required building information. This paper investigates current practices and future possibilities of improvement measures and data capturing of existing buildings using a questionnaire survey of 133 building professionals in Benin City. The inter-relationship between energy efficiency, the environment, and building design with a high potential for meaningful retrofit to mitigate energy inefficiencies is known but not fully utilized. The collected thought on current practices signifies the need for developing a more economical and reliable methodology for data capturing and evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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14 pages, 1347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sources of Challenges for Sustainability in the Building Design—The Relationship between Designers and Clients

by Nathalia de Paula, Lincoln K. Jyo and Silvio B. Melhado

Buildings 2022, 12(10), 1725; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101725 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2652

Abstract

Sustainability demands have changed the building design nature increasing the diversity of requirements, activities, agents, and tools. The aim of this paper is to investigate the sources of challenges in the relationship between architectural and engineering (AE) design firms and clients for promoting [...] Read more.

Sustainability demands have changed the building design nature increasing the diversity of requirements, activities, agents, and tools. The aim of this paper is to investigate the sources of challenges in the relationship between architectural and engineering (AE) design firms and clients for promoting sustainability in the building design. Additionally, this study investigated the building information modeling (BIM) deployment by the firms that supports sustainability. The research method adopted is qualitative and participatory, based on focus groups. Two groups were interviewed, eight AE design firms and six developers and/or construction companies, gathering the points of view of service providers and their clients. The identified sources of challenges around sustainability include lack of communication and imprecision of definition, requirements, and scope. Additionally, management issues include performance evaluation, traditional work relationships, tools, and processes that do not support collaboration needs. In addition, AE design firms’ organization affects the client relationship and design quality, including the consideration of sustainability issues in the design solutions. The sources are found in the AE design firm’s processes of strategy planning, business and marketing, design, people, and knowledge management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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18 pages, 873 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Improving Design Quality by Contractor Involvement: An Empirical Study on Effects

by Eelon Lappalainen, Petteri Uusitalo, Ergo Pikas, Olli Seppänen, Antti Peltokorpi, Petri Uusitalo, Ana Reinbold and Nikolai Menzhinskii

Buildings 2022, 12(8), 1188; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081188 - 8 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3151

Abstract

It is generally acknowledged that good-quality design is a prerequisite for good quality and productive construction work. One proposed measure to improve the quality of construction has been contractors’ involvement in the design phase, and this phenomenon has been studied by several researchers. [...] Read more.

It is generally acknowledged that good-quality design is a prerequisite for good quality and productive construction work. One proposed measure to improve the quality of construction has been contractors’ involvement in the design phase, and this phenomenon has been studied by several researchers. However, such approaches have not adequately addressed how this involvement affects the quality of the design. In this study, the aim was to study the effects of the early involvement of contactors on design quality based on evaluating the design quality factors. A case study was used to collect data and content analysis to analyze structural drawings and design meeting minutes of a large-scale infrastructure project. Particularly, the focus was on gathering information on the quality of the design and how it was addressed in the design coordination. We combined this quantitative data with qualitative open-ended thematic interviews, including respondents who led and coordinated the design on both the client and contractor sides. Our findings suggest that despite the vast amount of design changes, contractors’ involvement and development work in the detailed design phase improved design quality and constructability. Our findings also suggest that the contractor’s involvement during the schematic design phase had a design-enhancing effect in the detailed design phase. This study contributes to our understanding of contractors’ valuable role in design quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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32 pages, 2489 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Value Generation in Target Value Design Applying a Value Analysis Model

by Zulay Giménez, Claudio Mourgues, Luis F. Alarcón and Harrison Mesa

Buildings 2022, 12(7), 922; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12070922 - 29 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3398

Abstract

Target value design (TVD) is a management approach that applies target costing in the design and construction industry. TVD enables a project environment with favorable characteristics to generate value. However, because the TVD’s primary assessment is cost, target cost can be met without [...] Read more.

Target value design (TVD) is a management approach that applies target costing in the design and construction industry. TVD enables a project environment with favorable characteristics to generate value. However, because the TVD’s primary assessment is cost, target cost can be met without necessarily achieving the project’s full value. This research applies the action research approach to implement TVD in a housing project and explores the value generation of the project using a value analysis model (VAM) to study the balance between cost and value fulfillment in the product and design process. According to the results, even though the target cost was achieved, the desired value of the project was not achieved during the project design. However, there is a tendency to increase value over time to a greater extent in the product and not so much in the process. The main contributions of this study are the possibility of comparing cost and value, identifying the emphasis of product over process and cost over value throughout the TVD project. This study enhances the literature on project value generation and maximization, offering new knowledge for a better understanding of how to conduct a value analysis in combination with costing in TVD projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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23 pages, 854 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysing Gender Issues in the Australian Construction Industry through the Lens of Empowerment

by Cynthia Changxin Wang, Eveline Mussi and Riza Yosia Sunindijo

Buildings 2021, 11(11), 553; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110553 - 18 Nov 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6109

Abstract

Gender equality at work in male-dominated industries is conditioned by intrinsic systemic issues which established policies have, to a significant extent, failed to address, as women’s participation remains under-represented. This study argues for the reappraisal of the issue through a different lens and [...] Read more.

Gender equality at work in male-dominated industries is conditioned by intrinsic systemic issues which established policies have, to a significant extent, failed to address, as women’s participation remains under-represented. This study argues for the reappraisal of the issue through a different lens and carries out a systematic and thematic review of the literature on women in construction in Australia through a women’s empowerment framework. Despite its usual application in gender inequality at work in development studies, the concept of empowerment lacks attention in the context of developed countries, particularly regarding the construction industry. Empowerment has been proved a useful overarching framework to analyse personal, relational, and environmental factors affecting women’s ability to be or do. In the examined studies, there is significant focus on external barriers to women in construction, such ‘organisational practices’ (environmental), ‘support’ and ‘others’ attitudes and behaviour’ (relational). There is, however, limited attention to more active stances of power, such as one’s attitude (personal), control and capacity, in shifting power dynamics. The paper draws seven major findings, covering personal, relational and environmental dimensions, supported and supplemented by some international studies, and suggests the way forward for empowering women in construction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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27 pages, 907 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantifying Critical Success Factors (CSFs) in Management of Investment-Construction Projects: Insights from Bayesian Model Averaging

by Janusz Sobieraj and Dominik Metelski

Buildings 2021, 11(8), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080360 - 17 Aug 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4616

Abstract

The problem with evaluating investment projects is that there are many factors that determine the degree of their successful conclusion. Consequently, there has been an active debate for years as to which critical success factors (CSFs) contribute most to the performance of construction [...] Read more.

The problem with evaluating investment projects is that there are many factors that determine the degree of their successful conclusion. Consequently, there has been an active debate for years as to which critical success factors (CSFs) contribute most to the performance of construction projects. This is because the practice of empirical research is based on two steps: first, researchers choose a particular model from the space of all possible models, and second, they act as if the chosen model is the only one that fits the data and describes the phenomenon under study. Hence, there are many CSF lists that can be found in the literature, owing to the uncertainty at the model selection stage, which is usually ignored. Alternatively, model averaging accounts for this model uncertainty. In this study, the Bayesian model averaging and data from a survey of Polish construction managers were used to investigate the potential of 28 factors describing a diverse set of characteristics in explaining the performance of construction projects in Poland. Determinants of successful completion of investment projects are categorized by their level of evidential strength, which is derived from posterior inclusion probabilities (PIPs), i.e., providing strong, medium and weak evidence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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Review

Jump to: Research

24 pages, 5178 KiB

Open AccessReview

Problems and Challenges in the Interactions of Design Teams of Construction Projects: A Bibliometric Study

by Eduardo I. Galaz-Delgado, Rodrigo F. Herrera, Edison Atencio, Felipe Muñoz-La Rivera and Clarissa N. Biotto

Buildings 2021, 11(10), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11100461 - 8 Oct 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4953

Abstract

There is no comprehensive understanding of the problems that may impact the performance of the different actors that participate in the design of construction projects. In the absence of clarity about the problems and challenges that may impact the interactions, it is not [...] Read more.

There is no comprehensive understanding of the problems that may impact the performance of the different actors that participate in the design of construction projects. In the absence of clarity about the problems and challenges that may impact the interactions, it is not possible to propose action plans to optimize the performance of the design teams. Therefore, this study proposes to identify the main problems and challenges in the interactions of design teams in building projects. A mixed review method is used to integrate bibliometric reviews, systematic reviews, and social network analysis to build a complete picture of the reviewed topic while highlighting certain key areas to ensure in-depth research. To achieve the objective of this work, the research was divided into three stages: (1) study of interactions in design teams; (2) identification of problems in design team interactions; and (3) study of problems in design team interactions. Through this study, four current major trends of research were identified: (1) Collaboration and BIM; (2) Design teams in the construction industry; (3) Design management; and (4) Collaborative design methodologies and processes. In addition, the most relevant problems or challenges within design team interactions arise in communication, collaboration, coordination, trust, and role identification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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18 pages, 591 KiB

Open AccessReview

When Parallel Schools of Thought Fail to Converge: The Case of Cost Overruns in Project Management

by Aaron Anil Chadee, Xsitaaz Twinkle Chadee, Indrajit Ray, Abrahams Mwasha and Hector Hugh Martin

Buildings 2021, 11(8), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080321 - 27 Jul 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4808

Abstract

This paper investigates the conflicting and contrasting views between two prominent schools of thought (SOT), the conventional project management empirical school and the incoming behavioural and psychological sciences, to explain the cost overrun phenomenon in transportation infrastructure projects. Although theories within these SOTs [...] Read more.

This paper investigates the conflicting and contrasting views between two prominent schools of thought (SOT), the conventional project management empirical school and the incoming behavioural and psychological sciences, to explain the cost overrun phenomenon in transportation infrastructure projects. Although theories within these SOTs seem to coexist and are used interchangeably, there exists a widening knowledge gap that leads to conflicting and contrasting ideological views. In this paper, we contend that there is a lack of a cross-fertilisation mechanism to fuse and co-join contemporary theories on cost overruns. This has led to the encapsulation and fragmented adhocracy in theory building. Utilising a critical review approach, this study proposes the concepts of ideological distancing and encapsulation between “empiricism” and “behavioural” SOTs as the focus of analyses for understanding the root causes of cost overruns in project studies. The study showed that the extant debate on cost overruns is limited and divergent, effectively contributing to the problem of continued expansion and non-convergence of theories that maintain parallel identities. This creates a space for inquiry, reflecting, theorising, and debating for the convergence of SOTs on cost overrun research and theories on what can be deemed project knowledge. This paper contributes to extant project studies by identifying the need for convergence and co-joining theories with different epistemes through causal linkages. Consequently, this will improve the public sector’s infrastructure policymaking by exposing the theoretical limitations of the current ad hoc manner and application of project management concepts based on the project professionals’ bounded decision-making rationalities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Project and Design Management in the Construction Sector)

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