Contractor Project Managers Research Articles

Comparative Analysis of Human Traits and Tendencies: General vs. Specialty Contractor Project Managers

ABSTRACT Construction project managers (PMs) are critical team players in safeguarding project success. Construction organizations heavily rely on their PMs to inspire and motivate their teams to accomplish projects. However, labor turnover, changing demographics, and a shortage of skilled talent are common challenges in the industry. PMs transition between jobs in search of better opportunities. Labor turnover distresses project success, pressurizes team performance, and reduces organizational profitability. This study proposes using human traits assessments to evaluate the variations between job roles in construction. Understanding this sets a more positive work environment and improves teamwork, communication, and employee retention techniques. In assessing the differences between general contractor project managers (GC PMs) and specialty contractor project managers (specialty PMs), this study found that the traits and characteristics of individuals working in different roles can vary considerably. Significant differences in personality characteristics, emotional intelligence, and behavioral traits were identified. Construction companies may use human traits assessments to aid employee retention and talent development. Employees can better comprehend their work environments and smoothly transfer between roles in the industry as they learn the demands of the different job roles.

Developing a construct to measure contractor project manager performance competencies

PurposeConstruction organizations' investment in effective talent-development programs is a key strategy in attracting, developing and retaining staff. Such programs are especially important given the current challenges in the construction workforce, including labor shortages, an aging workforce, generational differences in the workforce, supply chain disruptions and the need to effectively train staff in the skills that are essential in a constrained labor environment. To address these challenges, this study proposes a performance measurement strategy that construction companies can use as input to design their talent development programs.Design/methodology/approachThe strategy intends to assess the performance of project managers and develop criteria that define categories of their performance, including the top performers' category. This enables construction organizations to provide each project manager with individualized training that addresses areas of weakness and in turn, develops the skills that correspond with being top performers. The proposed strategy was developed and tested by surveying the immediate supervisors of 187 project managers working for general and specialty contractors in the United States. Principal component analysis was used to develop a single performance construct from seven performance criteria.FindingsThis construct was used to organize the project managers into the categories of top, above-average and below-average performers. According to the findings, top-performing project managers have well-rounded skills in the areas of leadership, communication, technical proficiency and overall job knowledge.Practical implicationsThe outcomes of this study can help construction organizations focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with PMs being top performers.Originality/valueThis study provides construction organizations with a comprehensive performance-measuring construct to focus their talent-development programs on the skills most associated with top-performing project managers. Researchers can use this study as a foundation for further understanding how performance is related to various construction professions.

Relationship between contractor satisfaction and project management performance

Despite the fast growth of project-based companies and industries, studies of the satisfaction-performance (S-P) nexus of project participants are lacking. This study aims to explore the role of contractor satisfaction in affecting contractor project management performance along with considering external effects from other key participants. Two broad dimensions of satisfaction toward noneconomic factors and economic factors were used to develop hypothesized models. Structural equation modelling techniques were applied with data collected from 117 projects, showing that it is insufficient to simply conclude that contractor satisfaction influences project managerial performance and vice versa, and that satisfaction disaggregation is necessary. Additionally, it was found that noneconomic satisfaction contributes to performance, which in turn contributes to economic satisfaction. The theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.

Contractor project manager leadership style based on path goal theory to support construction sustainability

Sustainability in construction projects has become an essential issue To implement sustainability in the construction project, trained personnel are needed. However, the temporary projects and the turnover of the project team members remained obstructions in performing these principles. Leadership is a competency that must be possessed by the contractor project manager in leading the project and making sure the construction project sustainability constructing subordinate engagement and organizational learning. Various studies on leadership styles that are suitable to be applied in the construction industry have been carried out in various countries, but in Indonesia, it has not been a concern. This study describes the leadership styles of the project manager uses Path-Goal leadership theory. From the research carried out on projects in Jakarta and Bandung, it was found that project managers in construction projects tend to lead by using achievement oriented style. Short construction project completion times and penalties if the project finish late, both are making PM oriented towards achievement, giving targets to the project team and expecting the best performance from the project team. However, project managers lack trust in subordinates to take decisions (participative). It affected the subordinate engagement at work that needed in supporting construction sustainability.

Performance of performance specifications in design-build highway projects

Design-build contracts with performance-based specifications are believed to raise productivity and the innovation rate. Such specifications for highway and bridge contracts may create risks, be too detailed or difficult to verify. The purpose has been to analyse how performance-based requirements are used in Swedish design-build contracts for highway projects. How contractors are encouraged to provide innovative technologies is emphasized. Generic documents from the Swedish Transport Administration for design-build contracts have been studied, and case studies of six design-build contracts with performance-based requirements have been made. Technical specifications for these contracts have been analysed and interviews held with both client and contractor project managers. Results include that it is along the time axis that major obstacles to innovation arise. Before the contractor is able to develop innovative solutions, the initial design plan restricts the highway geometry. During construction, a mix of performance and prescriptive requirement formulations is more of a challenge than clashes between performance requirements. The client may avoid performance language, more so for bridges than road surfaces, because of concerns with efficient maintenance in the future. It is recommended that performance-based specifications should be less detailed and that a life cycle view of highway projects should support innovative technologies.

Risk Analysis Using Simulation: A Case Study of Construction Industry

Over time and over budget can not be denied occur in a construction project. One of them is caused by supply chain management who less effective to overcome these problems. Purpose of this research is to build a modeling that can detect supply chain risk factors by simulating changes and the impact on the risk of time and cost of the project. Risk register is performed by identifying risks based sources of uncertainty surrounding supply chain. That identification is classified into the life cycle stages of construction, it can more easily analyzed. Historical data for the probability and impact can be simulated through field observation, survey questionnaires and interviews with 15 respondent. The final result of this study found that out of 30 risks that have been carried out monte simulation, 4 risks are included in the high risk assessment, 11 risks are entered in the medium risk assessment and 15 the risk of entering the risk assessment is low. 4 risks that get high scores are then interviewed with the main contractor project manager to find the risk management strategy. The response of these 4 risks is to reduce the impact of risk by following the operational standards of construction projects in the form of material permit applications and permits to carry out work, and noticing the amount of supply in the warehouse should not be less than 30% so there is no waiting time in the field. The results of this study will be able to provide reports to the project manager so that they can anticipate the impact of supply chain risk construction that may occur in the implementation of construction.

A Study of Unethical Practices in the Construction Industry and Potential Preventive Measures

<p>The conflict of interest amongst the professionals like client and contractor project managers, site engineers, quantity surveyors and designers/architects play crucial roles for the unethical practices and consequently these practices have adverse impact on the product quality, faith of clients and investors’ confidence in the construction industry. Hence, this research is aimed at examining the common forms of unethical practices among professionals in the construction industry as well as uncovering the factors that have encouraged these practices. This study depends on the questionnaire survey amongst professionals of the construction industry. The survey is conducted to recognise the view of key stakeholders from different perspectives of the affected parties on the concept of business ethics in the building and construction industry, which has key contribution on the national economic growth of the developing countries. The survey concludes that untimely legal action including changing project manager’s responsibility and delays in payment processes are key ethical practices from owner/client aspect, while contractor’s unethical practices are under bidding, bid cutting and shopping, bid rigging and over billing. But from the consultant aspect; lack of supervision, poor monitoring and taking bribes under different pretend are found to be the encouraging factors for unethical conducts in the construction industry. It is also found that accepting the bribes, gifts and conflicts of interest are the most common forms of unethical practices. The findings from the study are expected to help as an important eye opener to policy makers and regulatory agencies in detecting and preventing unethical practices. In conclusion, avoiding the conflict of interest and promoting the ethic codes to professionals will help to restore the investor and people confidence, faith of the clients and improve the quality of buildings and infrastructures. The study recommends that promoting awareness regarding the values of ethical behaviour at different forum and ensuring the effective punishment for unethical activities at different stages of project life cycle might reduce the unethical practices in the construction industry.</p><p><strong>Journal of Advanced College of Engineering and Management</strong>, Vol. 3, 2017, Page: 55-77</p>

해외플랜트 공사 벤치마킹 프로그램 개발

2003년 이후 국내 건설회사의 해외 건설수주액이 급격히 늘어나고 있다. 해외 플랜트 공사는 시공사의 EPC와 사업관리 능력이 성패를 좌우한다. 시공사의 사업관리 능력 제고하기 위해서는 건설성과를 측정하고 평가하는 과정이 필요하다. 따라서 본 논문은 해외 플랜트 참여사들의 건설성과 벤치마킹을 위한 프로그램을 개발하였다. 건설 성과지표는 사업비, 공기, 품질, 안전 등으로 구성되어 있다. 그리고 해외에서 수행된 플랜트 공사 10개의 자료를 입수하여 성과를 분석하였다. 해외 플랜트 공사 벤치마킹 프로그램을 개발하는 과정에서 업계의 피드백과 교훈을 제시하였다. 그리고 본 프로그램이 지속적으로 활용되기 위해 고려해야 할 사항을 제안하였다. The oversea construction contract amount has sharply increased since 2003. The contractor's capability for EPC and project management is a key factor for a successful industrial construction project. Construction performance measurement and evaluation is needed to improve contractor's project management capability. Therefore, this paper proposes the construction performance benchmarking program for oversea industrial projects. Performance metrics consists of project cost, schedule, quality, and safety. Data from 10 oversea industrial projects were collected and analyzed. Also, this paper describes the process for development of the benchmarking program and lessons learned from industry are summarized. Finally, this paper recommends how sustainable benchmarking program should be established and implemented.

The view of freedom and standardisation among managers in Swedish construction contractor projects

It has been suggested that standardisation improves productivity. Simultaneously, construction contractor project managers are given freedom to run projects as if they were independent firms. If this is a motivating factor for the managers, firms may have to find other ways to improve productivity than to increase standardisation to be able to stimulate their most skilled managers. It could prove important to recognise their need for freedom before they start looking for alternative places of employment.The purpose of this article is to inquire how standardisation may or may not conflict with contractor project managers' sense of freedom.Interviews with 15 contractor project managers from Swedish medium-sized construction contractor enterprises indicate that standardised processes do not necessarily conflict with their sense of freedom and work motivation as long as their ability to overview the production process is preserved.Based on the findings it is argued that standardisation should be implemented and developed with respect from top managers using a bottom-up approach.

Assessing the performance of Libyan supervising engineers

In the Libyan construction industry, the supervising engineer plays an important role in checking time schedules and protecting the client from delays and associated claims but there is no existing means of determining their proficiency in performing this task. A list of factors identifying a broad range of characteristics and skills necessary for the effective supervision of construction projects is compiled. A field survey comprising semi‐structured interviews and questionnaires with 32 client and contractor project managers experienced in the Libyan construction sector is undertaken. The responses are used to develop a method of assessing the effectiveness of supervising engineers in dealing with construction project delays through a set of weighted criteria which are scored according to currently perceived levels of performance. The results indicate that Libyan supervising engineers are currently deficient in a number of areas, particularly communication skills (33%); obtained scientific, technical and legal knowledge (34%); knowledge in dealing with claims (36%); previous experience (37%); knowledge and use of modern techniques (37%). These factors are therefore a key focus for the professional development needs of supervising engineers and the method of assessment should assist clients in the process of selection and appointment.

A platform for collaborative engineering

This paper describes an innovative IT platform, called Locosp, that is the result of an ongoing industrial research project that involves several multidisciplinary partners from automotive manufacturing, software engineering, distributed systems, and business process management. The platform is essentially an IT infrastructure modeled after service-oriented architecture principles, which enforce the loose coupling of software agents and help close the gap between an enterprise's newer models and its legacy IT systems. This paper focuses on Locosp's overall architecture and the services offered to the main contractor's project manager through an extension of GanttProject, an open source project management client

Construction Product/Service and Customer Satisfaction

Construction has typically been viewed as a production process, with the product being the completed facility. In addition to providing this product, contractors also provide service. Construction is examined in terms of the service product, service delivery, and service environment. The concept of service encounters is examined in the context of perceived quality and customer satisfaction. Determinants of service quality are analyzed in terms of how they influence perceived quality. The relationship between the criteria used by customers in choosing suppliers and the factors driving satisfaction are examined, and results of two studies of factors involved in contractor selection and satisfaction are reviewed. These factors are the contractor-customer relationship, the contractor's project management skills, the contractor's safety performance, whether the contractor has a prepared/skilled workforce, and the cost of the work.

Construction Coordination Activities: What Is Important and What Consumes Time

Coordination is an important function in the building process. Recent research has shown that poor or inadequate coordination is the best that is achieved on construction sites. Nevertheless, many authors of textbooks on construction project management have not discussed this vital topic. A literature review carried out in this present study revealed that there is a lack of formal understanding on how day-to-day coordination is actually achieved on a construction project. This research was directed at identifying what activities are performed to achieve coordination and, which among those are the most important and more time-consuming for a construction coordinator. In the absence of previous research, texts on the duties and responsibilities of project managers, clerks of works, construction engineers, etc., were reviewed from the contractor's project manager's perspective during the building phase of a construction project, and an array of issues relevant to achieving coordination were identified. Initially, the array included 64 coordination issues; a questionnaire was developed for construction project managers to indicate the relative importance and time consumed on a 3 point scale (i.e., high, mid or low). Thirty-three responses received from practitioners in the Hong Kong and Singapore construction industries indicate that identifying strategic activities and potential delays and ensuring the timeliness of all work are the most important activities. Conducting regular meetings and project reviews and analyzing the project performance, detecting variances and dealing with their effects (16th and 17th, respectively in order of importance) appear to be the most time-consuming activities.

Measuring the success of public participation on environmental restoration and waste management activities in the U.S. Department of Energy

The value added by public participation to decision-making in the Office of Environmental Management (EM) in the Department of Energy (DOE) can be enhanced through better organization, improved participation strategies and mechanisms, and integration with other aspects of decision-making (e.g., problem definition, mission development, identification and evaluation of decision alternatives, and decision implementation). The opportunity to improve the value added by public participation, however, is contingent on being able to demonstrate that the resources devoted to such activity is a sensible and worthwhile investment. This article summarizes research conducted to expand those savings and improvements and facilitate other improvements by developing a set of performance-based indicators, based on discrete attributes of successful public involvement, for use in evaluating public participation programs and activities in EM, with special emphasis on activities implemented in the field offices of DOE. The success attributes and indicators were developed through reviews of appropriate research literatures and through intensive interviews with and surveys administered to diverse stakeholders, including DOE project managers and public participation specialists, contractor project managers and public participation specialists, representatives of tribal, state, and local governments, federal and state regulatory authorities, environmental interest groups, and other interested parties, at nine DOE facilities in the United States.

What every good manager should know about Ada

The author discusses fears and fantasies about Ada that she has heard, directly or indirectly, each of them a number of times, from people holding a variety of management and nonmanagement positions, working for the government and for government contractors, and with a wide range of technical backgrounds. She examines them from three points of view: the US Department of Defense program office view; the contractor project management view; and the design and implementation team view. Her goal is to help project managers discriminate facts about Ada from fears and fantasies and thus ensure its successful use. >

Microcomputers, management, and high-rise construction: the next step

The attributes required of an integrated management information system that advances the state-of-the-art and that is responsive to the needs of general contractor project management personnel for high-rise construction are presented. These needs are elaborated upon through the mechanism of a framework for conducting research on construction management information systems.Emphasis is placed on planning and scheduling for repetitive construction and subcontractor control. The description of a microcomputer-based prototype system called REPCON, which incorporates many of the attributes identified, is provided along with results from field tests of the system. Recommendations for future research are given. Key words: high-rise construction, management information system, planning and scheduling, subcontractor control, field tests.