Construction Projects In UAE Research Articles

Developing a critical influential factors Model (CIFsM) for Agile Management Principles in UAE Construction Projects

Developing a critical influential factors Model (CIFsM) for Agile Management Principles in UAE Construction Projects

Lean Construction in the UAE: Implementation of Last Planner System®

Question: Is there a possibility of applying the Last Planner System® in the UAE construction environment? Purpose: Investigating the success and failure factors of implementing the Last Planner System® (LPS®) in UAE construction projects. Research Methodology: The research was conducted through exploratory interviews with construction professionals and an explanatory case study in the UAE. Findings: LPS® implementation is applicable within the UAE construction market. The challenges on the level of operation can be addressed by using the concept of gradual change operations. Limitations: limited interview sample; use of a single case study; the implementation is newer in UAE. Implications: The procedure used within the case study will conform to the LPS® as a tool until it becomes an accepted concept. Value for authors: Enriches the efforts of studying the implementation of the LPS® within the Gulf area and the Middle East in general due to minimal research covering the LPS®. In addition, the approach used for implementing the LPS® is unique to the context studied. Keywords: Lean, Construction, Lean Construction, Last Planner®, Last Planner System® Planning, Project Management Paper type: Case Study

Identification of project cultural factors affecting the performance of UAE construction projects

The cultural impact of project management has recently attracted a lot of interest from academics, as it has quite a significant impact on project success or failure. In the construction industry, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between project organizational culture and performance from the perspective of work practices at the project level. This study's aim is to identify the cultural factors affecting the performance of UAE construction projects by using a mixed-methods approach. Data collection was based on a detailed analysis of the literature and the experiences of key project participants who were engaged in UAE construction projects. SPSS software was used to look at data from 124 recently completed projects in the UAE construction industry. This study identified eight cultural factors positively affecting the performance of UAE construction projects, which are client commitment, consultant commitment, contractor commitment, goal alignment and reliance, cooperative orientation, empowerment orientation, worker orientation, and authority. The contractor commitment-related factors have the most effect on overall project performance, while the authority-related factors were ranked as having the least effect. The study's findings help professionals in the construction industry implement practices that improve project cultures, which can enhance project performance and success.

Investigation Study of the Challenges in Green Procurement Implementation in Construction Projects in UAE

The global construction industry is responsible for significant environmental and societal effects. Some researchers claim that it accounts for 35% of global gas emissions. One of the solutions is to practice green supply chain management. Part of this is Green Procurement (GP) to conserve energy and money. However, challenges in implementing green procurement in the construction industry are rising. This research aims to identify the most significant challenges when implementing green procurement (GP) in construction projects in the UAE. A comprehensive article review was conducted to determine the critical obstacles highlighted by different researchers. These challenges were prioritized using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method, and then recommendations on best practices to overcome these challenges were proposed. The results show that the lack of top management commitment is the biggest challenge when implementing green procurement in the construction industry in the UAE, with a priority value of 0.331, followed by a lack of knowledge, with a value of 0.2748. In contrast, lack of awareness is the lowest-ranked factor, with a value of 0.103. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-04-06 Full Text: PDF

Structural Relationship of Causes and Effects of Construction Changes: Case of UAE Construction

Changes during construction is one of the critical issues faced in the construction industry. Effective management of construction changes will reduce the financial burden faced in construction projects due to cost overrun, and practitioners will be able to complete projects on time. On the other hand, construction changes exert severe effects on project performance. Hence, this paper uncovers several changes occurring in construction projects. It also evaluates the effect on various parameters of project performance due to changes. This was done by uncovering the underlying causes and effects of changes through the PLS method of structural equation modeling technique. SmartPLS software was used to develop and evaluate the study model based on 58 change causes and 48 change effects that were identified from the literature review. Causes of changes were categorized into three constructs which are client-related causes (CLE), consultant-related causes (COS), and contractor-related causes (CON). At the same time, the effects variables were grouped as Time Overrun (TO), Cost Overrun (CO), and Quality (QA). The survey data for generating the model was collected from 218 practitioners working on construction megaprojects of the UAE. Assessment on the constructed model found that the contractor (CON) group is the most influential group of causes with the highest values of the model’s predictive explanatory power (accuracy), which is 0.396, 0.339, and 0.410 to time overrun, cost overrun, and quality assurance of the effects groups, respectively. At the same time, the Quality Assurance (QA) group is considered the most substantial parameter which are affected due to changes occurring in construction projects of UAE. This model is deemed beneficial for the UAE construction industry in facilitating the effective recognition of possible causes and effects of change among the UAE construction projects. As a result, the practitioners will make necessary arrangements to control the potential changes in future projects.

Inhibiting Factors of Cost Performance in UAE Construction Projects

UAE construction industry frequently faces poor cost performance which commonly known as cost overrun problem. This problem is resulted from several factors and it is important to identify these cost overrun factors in order to avoid and minimize it. Hence, this paper focused on determined the relevancy of factors affecting cost performance in construction projects of UAE. Through a review of past research works conducted globally, 27 factors of cost overrun were listed and used for developing a structured questionnaire. A survey was conducted with 33 practitioners from client, consultant and contractors organizations involved in handling construction projects in UAE. The respondents were requested to state their perception regarding the relevancy of each of the factors that was perceived in context with cost overrun issue using 5-points Likert scale. The responses were analysed using average index method and the results found that all the 27 factors are relevant with construction industry of UAE in causing cost overrun. These factors can be used for further investigation to uncover critical problems of cost overrun.

Effects due to Change in UAE Construction Projects

Globally construction works are suffering from several challenges. One of the major challenges is changes during execution of the construction work. Changes exert several negative impacts on the project performance. For effective project performance, it is necessary to understand the effects of changes. Hence, this study investigated various effects of changes occurring in construction project. Investigation was carried out quantitatively through questionnaire survey based on effect variables identified from review of literature. It involved three categories as time overrun, cost overrun and quality measured with 48 variables. 100 questionnaire sets collected against 218 questionnaire forms distributed among the practitioners were analysed statistically. From analysis results, it was found that cost overrun is major effect of changes followed by quality and time overrun. Delay in completion schedule, slower project progress and dispute between owner and contractor are reported as major drivers of time overrun. Top three variables of cost overrun in cost overrun are increase the cost of the projects, interrupted cash flow and additional money for contractor. While, major drivers of the quality in construction projects are rework of bad quality performance, changes in materials specifications and changes in material types & specifications during construction. These findings will be helpful for the practitioners in achieving project performance.

The Relationship between Financial Reporting System and Project Success: A Case of Construction Projects in UAE

The Relationship between Financial Reporting System and Project Success: A Case of Construction Projects in UAE

Moderating claims and disputes through collaborative procurement

Purpose Following the global financial crisis in 2008, the construction sector in UAE has been facing emergent criticisms for growing adversarial culture and rising prevalent claims and disputes between stakeholders. The complex, large size and fast track nature of construction projects in UAE, make project management very challenging under the commonly used traditional procurement routes. This paper aims to examine whether implementing collaborative procurement approaches can facilitate resolving the escalating number of claims and disputes in the UAE construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Considering the nature of the study, a quantitative method was selected to realize the research objectives. The questionnaire was uploaded using an online survey facility and distributed through e-mails and professional networks. The questionnaire was piloted with experts to assess whether the questions are unambiguous, easy to respond and intelligible. The feedback received was mostly positive with few comments and recommendations. The pilot responses were incorporated and the questionnaire was modified before the final sending out. The questionnaire survey consisted of six main sections to fulfill the research objectives. Findings Around three-quarters of the experts believe that the relationship is adversarial, with a lack of trust, win-lose attitude, with dismissive and opportunistic behavior. The survey reveals that the top causes of claims and disputes comprise the following: variations because clients initiated change requests; contractors selection on low bid only rather than including quality and performance considerations; and unfair risk allocation where majority of risks are transferred to contractors. The findings also identify eight collaborative practices, which have crucial positive impacts such as early identification of problems, better communication and enhanced trust and teamwork. Originality/value This research contributes to the enhancement of the management of claims and disputes for construction projects, which encompasses the following: the key characteristics of collaborative arrangements to improve the adversarial construction culture comprise: mutual respect, openness, fairness and non-opportunistic behaviors; the foremost roles of collaborative procurement in reducing claims and disputes embrace: early identification and resolution of problems, enhanced trust and teamwork spirit, improved relationships and better quality communication; the major practical barriers of implementing collaborative approaches incorporate: lack of awareness of their benefits, primitive legal framework of partnering arrangements and lack of transparency in procurement processes.

Employment of Unskilled Craft Workers in the UAE Construction Projects: Explicating the Reasons

The United Arab Emirates construction industry is beset with negative project performance outputs, such as defects, low productivity, delay in completion, and higher costs. Most critical among the recorded reasons for having these undesirable outputs is the engagement of unskilled craft workers. However, the demand for construction projects in the UAE is continually increasing, especially after Dubai won hosting of Expo 2020, as this consequently translates to increased demand for skilled construction craft workers, if optimal project delivery performance must be achieved. Therefore, subject matters related to skillfulness and productivity of construction craft workers become research windows for academic scholars and industry investigators in the UAE built environment. The main purpose of this study is to explicate the reasons behind employment of unskilled craft workers in the construction projects from the management level perspective. To meet this purpose, the authors conducted in-depth interview with construction project managers. The results show number of reasons why unskilled craft workers are been hired and the effect of specialized certificates on hiring the craft workers

Cultural and Economic Risks Factors in UAE Construction Projects

Cultural and Economic Risks Factors in UAE Construction Projects

Factors influencing the selection of delay analysis methods in construction projects in UAE

ABSTRACTSeveral delay analysis methods (DAMs) have been developed and used in the construction industry in order to analyse the causes and effects of delay events. In this research, a number of commonly used DAMs, in the specific context of UAE, are investigated by exploring the factors influencing their selection decisions as well as the process of making such a decision. A total of eight expert respondents from five different projects in the UAE were selected who provided critical insight into the decision-making process adopted in practice to select a DAM. The individual project case analysis as well as the cross case analysis helped to identify a number of factors that influence the selection of DAMs in UAE projects. Some of the main identified factors were the attitude of the client, experience of the delay analyst, reputation and impartiality of the delay analyst, complexity of the project, and cost and timing of performing the analysis. The research argues that such an important decision process that can have a serious impact on the success of a commercial venture requires individual organizations to develop and adopt clear guidelines on how such decisions are made to protect its commercial interests.

EVALUATION OF SAFETY ENGINEERING SYSTEM IN OIL AND GAS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN UAE

Risk assessment is one of the most critical tools used in the safety engineering system in oil and gas construction projects due to it providing the required protection for the construction activities such as pilling, materials fabrication, and structure installation. The main purpose of risk assessment tool is to provide full protection to the four main elements that are crucial to the oil industry: People, Environment, Assets and Reputation (PEAR). The failure or defect in the risk assessment implementation in the construction stage can potentially lead to catastrophes in the advanced stages such as operation and productions. In oil and gas construction projects many historical oil spill and blow outs occurred due to a lack of efficient risk assessment in the construction phase, resulting in financial and human life losses. There are various factors that contribute to the implementation problem in the construction phase, thus, different aspects should be analyzed in the risk assessment structures to determine how the system is very closely linked. Through data analysis, it is evident that the weakness in the implementation can be related to inadequate policy and framework of the risk assessment. Organizational culture affecting employee safety behavior is another contributing reason for faulty implementation. Many scholars try to analyze the implementation problem in the oil and gas sector, along with other heavy industries, through risk regulations, risk planning and human error. This research exposes the defects and challenges in the risk assessment tool in oil and gas construction projects in UAE through a questionnaire survey. The research shows a gap in the understanding and practice of the risk assessment tool between management and operation, especially in the behavioral effects.