Performance Of Building Projects Research Articles

Lean construction management: A catalyst for evaluating and enhancing prefabricated building project performance in China

The development of prefabricated construction in China has encountered challenges that prevent it from fully realizing its potential advantages. To overcome the challenges, this research examines the implementation of lean construction management in prefabricated building projects as a strategic approach to enhance their performance. Initially, this study examines the casual links between the driving factors of lean construction management and the performance indicators in prefabricated buildings by employing a structural equation model. Moreover, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to assess the performance of a selected prefabricated building across the four dimensions: project schedule, quality, cost and safety. Furthermore, through the analysis and research above, this paper proposes a performance enhancement path for prefabricated building projects based on the key driving factors of lean construction management. The research identifies 23 driving factors and 16 performance indicators. 13 key driving factors are identified, including (1) accurate positioning and lean evaluation of the project, (2) identification of project product market demand, (3) modular collaborative design of the project implementation plan, (4) component production plant standardization, (5) production procurement costs reduction, (6) distance and cost of component transportation reduction, (7) lean transportation program plan, (8) construction and assembly costs reduction and waste elimination, (9) modular parallel construction, (10) lean construction assembly technology and management technology, (11) internal performance incentive mechanism of the project organization, (12) lean culture cultivation and lean management training, and (13) support from senior management. In addition, this research proposes a performance enhancement path for prefabricated buildings. The findings contribute to the theoretical knowledge of lean construction management in prefabricated building projects and offer valuable guidance for its practical implementation.

Criteria For Evaluating Environmental Sustainability Performance of Building Projects: A Review

Criteria For Evaluating Environmental Sustainability Performance of Building Projects: A Review

Impact of quality change management on civil engineering projects in India

Abstract The elimination of non-conformance is one of the goals of quality management, which can be accomplished by effectively managing and supervising the project. The excellent quality results in increased production and reduced costs, contributing to a rise in the competitive edge. The present body of research has examined the effect of quality management on the performance of building projects in the Indian industry. Different researchers have strived to identify the factors that affect the performance of construction projects. A structured questionnaire was floated to different professionals in the industry, that is, architects, engineers, consultants, developers and researchers, and >152 valid responses were received. The questionnaire asked respondents to respond on a Likert scale of 1–5. The questionnaire asked about the impact of quality on different aspects of the construction project’s performance. Relative importance index (RII) are obtained to rank the elements in order of importance. According to the factor analysis results, three primary components account for 62% of the variance. The results show that the significant aspects of the project affected by quality are rate of rework, project performance, cost, safety, labour productivity and profitability with RII scores of 0.85, 0.82, 0.78, 0.76, 0.75 and 0.74, respectively.

Does self‐face awareness influence green building project performance?—An empirical evidence from China

AbstractIn the circumstances of “Carbon Peak,” it is imminent to implement green construction technology in the construction industry as it is a major source of CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, little study has been done on the impact of self‐face awareness (SA) on green building project performance (GP). On the basis of a large‐scale questionnaire survey in China and an in‐depth analysis of the four categories (cognition, behavior, satisfaction, and performance), this paper has added an SA dimension, and proposed a new impacting path. Then, based on the improved conceptual model for measuring the impact of green construction behavior on GP, this paper has conducted empirical tests by using a large sample of questionnaire data and partial least square‐structural equation modeling method. The results show that: (1) green construction behavior has a positive impact on GP, and the impact of perceived behavioral control of green construction technology is most significant for promoting green construction in the industry, and SA has a significant positive effect on green construction in the industry; (2) environmental perception and perceived behavioral control for green construction technology play a mediating role; and (3) significant differences indeed exist in the multigroup analysis, and the biggest difference is working experiences in the engineering field. Finally, this paper has proposed corresponding management implications based on the above findings. The main contribution of this study is that this study has developed a new dimension (SA) to the model considering Chinese national and cultural differences, in an attempt to reveal the impact of green construction technology on GP in the Chinese context. In addition, the promotion of green construction (PGC) in the construction industry was also added based on the sustainability perspective, which is the first attempt to explore the role of the PGC.

Quantifying the cost of quality in construction projects: an insight into the base of the iceberg

Construction projects are complex endeavors where achieving higher quality standards is challenging due to the intrinsic difficulties and dynamic quality management processes. Several quality management techniques exist to overcome quality concerns, such as the cost of quality (COQ). However, implementing COQ in building construction is challenging due to the absence of a comprehensive quality cost-capturing system. Several studies have tried to quantify different quality costs but are mainly focused on visible failure cost—the tip of the iceberg while the base of the iceberg has rarely been explored. This study develops and quantifies each component of the visible and hidden quality costs—the base of the iceberg. Accordingly, a modified prevention, appraisal, and failure model is developed and applied to the primary data of 25 building projects. The findings highlight the unfamiliarity and passive attitude of the involved construction firms towards quality, thus, incurring higher failure costs amounting to over 12% of the total project cost. Most of this cost remains hidden as traditional accounting systems cannot capture it. Such costs must be eliminated by implementing COQ systems as utilized in the current study. Further, a quality costing framework is established for building projects and applied to the local construction industry to reduce construction failures and improve the quality performance of building projects.

SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS: EVOLUTION BEYOND BUILDING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT METHODS

ABSTRACT The publication of the Brundtland Commission Report, popularly known as Our Common Future, was the precursor for what was to follow in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development or the Earth Summit. Both these events played a fundamental role in the global initiatives towards sustainability. The adoption of Agenda 21, a blueprint for sustainable development for the 21st century was a crucial agreement of the Rio Summit, which marked the beginning of an era where the term Sustainable Development came to be associated with all human interventions on planet earth. In this context, the building industry, which makes a significant impact on the social, environmental and economic well-being of the society, has a prime responsibility in meeting with sustainability requirements in all facets of the design, construction and operation of buildings. Currently efforts are being made by the building industry and the allied professions to adhere to sustainability norms by enhancing the current green building practices. The emergence of building environmental assessment (BEA) methods is such an attempt in addressing these issues, but is considered as insufficient to contend with the wider spectrum of sustainability. A technique to address complex attributes of sustainable performance of building projects has not been attempted before, owing to the dynamic nature of the concept of sustainability. This paper attempts to develop a framework to enhance current BEA methods, as the next stage of development towards meeting global sustainability initiatives. The main objective is to evolve a set of indicators that will assist in determining sustainability of a building. Three widely used BEA methods and Agenda 21, are analyzed, along with a focus group, to derive sustainability indicators. A total of 62 indicators under 10 categories are identified, some of which are common to BEA methods, while several new indicators are introduced to address sustainability issues not previously accounted for in BEA methods. The final outcome is a framework that can be used to determine the extent of sustainability of building projects. With the aid of the proposed framework of indicators, it is possible to develop a complete sustainability index by allocating values to each indicator, through a survey of professionals in the building industry. Such an index could be used as a tool in developing sustainable buildings, thus meeting with aspirations of building design teams and clientele who seek high quality sustainable solutions for their endeavours. This effort would also pave way for further research into the domain of building sustainability.

Influences Upsetting Excellent Performance of Building Projects in North-Eastern Nigeria

Influences Upsetting Excellent Performance of Building Projects in North-Eastern Nigeria

Evaluation of Service Quality Gaps in Construction Professional Service Firms in Nigeria

The study aims at evaluating and comparing service quality of consultancy firms who provide professional services in building projects in Nigeria. The article seeks to address the general perceptions of dissatisfaction with the quality of services in order to enhance performance of building projects and ensure competitiveness in the industry. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire as an instrument of data collection. The population of the study consisted of 488 representatives of public and private clients with a sample size of 385. Data were analysed using weighted mean and paired-sample t-test to determine the severity of differences in the expected service quality and perceived service quality. The result shows significant differences between the expected service quality and perceived service quality in structural engineering, mechanical/electrical engineering and quantity surveying services along all the dimensions of service quality. However, "Tangibles" dimension of architectural services had no positive differences in the service quality, but had differences in "Responsiveness", "Empathy", "Reliability" and "Assurance" dimensions. The results imply that professional service providers require fundamental improvement in their services to their clients. This study offers an opportunity for consultancy firms to evolve global best practices by creating and maintaining high service quality as a team.

The Effect Of HR Competence, IEP Innovation And Service Quality On Project Management In Building Project Performance

The use of Integrated Engineering Procurement (IEP) information technology can allegedly be used to build HR competencies, service quality, project performance and project management to overcome problems of project time delays, costs, and quality/quality of work. The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of HR competence, IEP innovation (integrated engineering procurement), service quality on project management in improving project performance. This research uses a case study in the Situ Bagendit revitalization project run by PT Adhi Karya Tbk. The research method used is quantitative. Quantitative research using SEM PLS. Sampling through purposive sampling method and obtained 117 research units. The results showed that based on SEM analysis stated that the relationship between HR Competence, IEP Innovation and Service Quality was significantly related to project performance. Likewise, the relationship between Project Management and project performance has created a significant positive.

The Effect Of HR Competence, IEP Innovation And Service Quality On Project Management In Building Project Performance

The use of Integrated Engineering Procurement (IEP) information technology can allegedly be used to build HR competencies, service quality, project performance and project management to overcome problems of project time delays, costs, and quality/quality of work. The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of HR competence, IEP innovation (integrated engineering procurement), service quality on project management in improving project performance. This research uses a case study in the Situ Bagendit revitalization project run by PT Adhi Karya Tbk. The research method used is quantitative. Quantitative research using SEM PLS. Sampling through purposive sampling method and obtained 117 research units. The results showed that based on SEM analysis stated that the relationship between HR Competence, IEP Innovation and Service Quality was significantly related to project performance. Likewise, the relationship between Project Management and project performance has created a significant positive.

Green-building information modelling (Green-BIM) assessment framework for evaluating sustainability performance of building projects: a case of Nigeria

ABSTRACT There is a research gap in the use of digital systems to aid the sustainability performance assessment of buildings, which informs the development of the green-BIM assessment (GBA) framework in this paper. The study employed a conceptual framework design, expert surveys, and case studies to identify and establish the different components of the GBA framework. The developed GBA framework incorporates the BSAM scheme as its primary green building rating system and provides a cost-effective solution for sustainability appraisal. The findings revealed that the 4Ws of the information exchange workflows would facilitate the GBA system's implementation and the expert validation confirmed its suitability for the Nigerian context. The C-SDSS served as the digital component of the GBA system towards automating the sustainability performance assessment of buildings. The GBA system provides the construction industry with a useful tool that could ease comparing two or more building projects or its designs for several uses – such as contract bidding, evaluating alternative designs, and the like. The application of the GBA system can be extended to facilitate its adoption in other regions or countries. The study’s deliverables are expected to enhance smart and eco-initiatives in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

Future-proofing and monitoring capital investments needs throughout the life cycle of building projects

It is increasingly important justify not only the initial capital investments needed at an early stage of a building project, but also all other subsequent costs throughout the building life-cycle. These involve an understanding of the running costs in the use stage and also appropriate long-term capital investment planning of future rehabilitation investments needs. To achieve this, several research efforts have been made to increase the understanding of complex building system and subsystems degradation processes in the post-construction period and to develop life-cycle-cost databases. But there is a lack of expedite decision support tools that can assist the future-proofing of design decisions at early stage of the building life-cycle and link those to the economic life-cycle performance. This paper presents an indicator-based approach (Building Investment Index, BII), which also allows the monitoring of the economic life-cycle performance of building projects at any moment in time. BII is applied in a case study of 166 public school building constructed in Portugal since 1942 and totally refurbished in 2009. Post-construction investment costs are estimated until 2071. It is show and proven how to use BII to future-proof decisions and to monitor and optimize long-term investment plans for building systems, subsystems and elements.

Client Delay Factors Affecting Building Project Performance Among Kuantan Malaysian Construction Industry: Through Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling

Client Delay Factors Affecting Building Project Performance Among Kuantan Malaysian Construction Industry: Through Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling

Evaluation of facilities management sustainable parameters for improving operational efficiency

Sustainability is becoming an integral part of the life-cycle development of built facilities and is emphasized during the design phase and post-occupancy phase. This article, therefore, investigates the facilities management (FM) sustainable parameters impact on cost performance of building projects. The sustainable parameters were identified through a systematic review of literature and these were separated into four categories: people, process, economy and social. This study was followed by a questionnaire survey and 31 respondents graded them in a 5-point Likert scale during the online survey. The mean and relative significance index of the sustainable parameters were determined, followed by rank analysis. The research findings show that cost-effectiveness, value of asset, environmental, practiced culture and design adaptability are widely accepted as sustainable parameters in FM practice. The study findings also show that maintainability was rated as very significant in design process for reducing long-term cost. The relationships between sustainable parameters and consideration in building design were identified using correlation tests. Finally, this research concludes that the integration of sustainable parameters and maintainability consideration into the design phase are capable to reduce 15–20% maintenance costs in building projects. This study provides an insight into the most significant design consideration and sustainable parameters for achieving operational efficiency.

Ranking of Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the New Housing Development Projects: Case of the Baltic States

Sustainable development is inconceivable without healthy real estate market. A housing project can be regarded as sustainable only when all the dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) are dealt with. There has been an increased interest in using sustainability indicators for evaluating the impacts of the new development projects. Although international literature is rich in sustainability assessments, there are no tools developed for assessment of new residential projects in the specific context of the Baltic States. Therefore, the aim of this article is to fill this gap and to propose an integrated, hierarchically structured system of sustainability indicators to be used for assessment of the new housing development projects. This aim is achieved through accomplishing three objectives. First, based on a review of literature related to assessing building project performance and sustainable development in construction, the paper proposes an original hierarchically structured system of sustainability indicators suitable for the Baltic context. Second, based on a survey of experts, significances of criteria are estimated by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Finally, paper proposes recommendations to government authorities and real estate developers as to how to enhance the performance of new residential projects according to the principles of sustainability.

Factors Affecting Rework Costs in Construction

Rework adversely impacts the performance of building projects. In this study, data were analyzed from 788 construction incidents in 40 Spanish building projects to determine the effects of project and managerial characteristics on rework costs. Finally, regression analysis was used to understand the relationships among contributing factors and to develop a model for rework prediction. Interestingly, the rework prediction model showed that only the original contract value (OCV) and the project location in relation to the company’s headquarters contributed to the regression model. Project type, type of organization, type of contract, and original contract duration (OCD), which represents the magnitude and complexity of a project, were represented by the OCV. This model for rework prediction based on original project conditions enables strategies to be put in place prior to the start of construction, to minimize uncertainties, to reduce impacts on project cost and schedule, and, thus, to improve productivity.

Quantifying the Impact of Cost-Based Incentives on the Performance of Building Projects in the United States

Quantifying the Impact of Cost-Based Incentives on the Performance of Building Projects in the United States

Identification of coordination factors affecting building projects performance

Construction projects performance requires improvement to fulfil the complexity of the stakeholders’ needs and expectations. Coordination process is proposed as an efficient solution for weak performance of construction projects. Therefore, coordination factors are vital in ensuring a successful implementation of all project phases. This study aimed to identify and prioritise coordination factors that influence the performance of building projects in Malaysian context. A vast body of literature on coordination process was reviewed and resulted in 53 coordination factor. Three rounds of Delphi technique were conducted. The most effective coordination factors were ranked based on the Relative Importance Index (RII) such as Scheduling (RII=0.97), Quality assurance plan (RII=0.93), and all parties’ participation in plans (RII=0.89). These coordination factors have fulfilled the research gap and provided better management and higher performance for project parties. The results offer insightful perspectives to define the most effective coordination factors, for addressing the dependency between project tasks and the parties to enhance project performance.

Performative Microforests: Investigating the potential benefits of integrating spatial vegetation environments into buildings, in regards to the performance of buildings, their occupants + local ecosystems

Performative Microforests: Investigating the potential benefits of integrating spatial vegetation environments into buildings, in regards to the performance of buildings, their occupants + local ecosystems

Cost Performance and Change Management Capability Level of Contractors: A Relational Quantitative Study

Project changes are very common and inevitable; hence they constitute high level of risk that contributes to projects failure. However, project change cost is observable to be one of the most sensitive aspects of construction project management and it is also one of the most difficult to control. It has been recognized that higher capability maturity levels leads to better and consistent performance and that projects that adopts change management capability maturity level as a criterion for contractor’s pre-qualification incurs lower costs overrun on project budgets. Therefore, examining the relationship between the change management capability maturity level of contractors and cost performance of building projects is the focus of this research. Adopting a questionnaire survey, data collected from respondents were analyzed using importance index, fuzzy synthetic evaluation, spearman’s rank correlation and multiple regression to investigate the impact which overall CMCML of contractors will have in mitigating project cost overrun. The research findings reveal that the project cost overrun is negatively related to CMCML of contractor as evidenced by the co-efficient of determination R 2=–0.305 (i.e., as CMCML increases, project cost overrun decreases). In addition, the result further indicates that there is a strong negative relationship between CMCML and project cost overrun going by the spearman’s rank correlation coefficient value of -0.618. The established model is capable of predicting contractors’ CMCML thus making it possible to forecast contractor’s likelihood of performance in terms of cost. Moreover, the developed model will enhance easy elimination of incompetent contractors prior to contract award thus creating a fairer competition among contractors.