Bingunath Ingirige

Web- Enabled Project Management: An Emerging Paradigm in Construction

Abstract The paper addresses the emerging paradigm of performing project management over the web. It describes the pitfalls in current project management practices amidst the challenges they have to face due to increasing project complexities. At present, the government, industry and clients are all seeking to bring about change in the construction industry to improve quality, competitiveness and profitability and increase value to clients. The findings of this report will highlight how web-enabled project management and its associated features are strongly linked at fulfilling the above endeavours of the parties concerned. However, it emphasises that in order to successfully embrace web-enabled project management equal consideration should be given to technology, processes and people.

Alliances in construction: Investigating initiatives and barriers for long‐term collaboration

Purpose ? This paper aims to prove that alliances in the construction industry can be used as vehicles to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach ? The paper first sets out a theoretical proposition through a literature review and synthesis, then details an empirical case study in the construction industry to investigate the theoretical proposition. Findings ? The findings indicate the existence of the ?project based mindset?, within the working practices of the different players in construction alliances. This overly narrow project focus constrains the process of achieving sustainable competitive advantage for alliances. Research limitations/implications ? This research, in broad terms, provides insights on the value of long-term orientated collaboration in construction alliances and specifically target practitioners by identifying benefits of balancing alliance tasks and activities among senior executives and project managers in an appropriate way. Originality/value ? The paper makes an original contribution to the general body of knowledge on alliances and specifically to construction alliances by identifying the core value addition in the process of long-term orientated collaboration so that the processes are carefully designed, interpreted and nurtured in practice. Also, recommends initiatives by the alliance management to redesign tasks and activities such that collaboration becomes part-and-parcel of senior executives and project managers? daily routine, rather than considering collaborative encounters as extra activities that need ?slack? time.

Resilience and adaptation of small and medium‐sized enterprises to flood risk

Purpose – The UK has experienced a number of flood events in recent years, and the intensity and frequency of such events are forecast to further increase in future due to changing climatic conditions. Accordingly, enhancing the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – which form an important segment in a society – to flood risk, has emerged as an important issue. However, SMEs often tend to underestimate the risk of flooding which tends to have a low priority in their business agenda. The purpose of this paper is to undertake an investigation of adaptation to the risk of flooding considering community-level measures, individual-level property protection, and business continuity and resilience measures. Design/methodology/approach – A total of four short case studies were conducted among SMEs to identify their response to flood risk, and what measures have been undertaken to manage the risk of flooding. Findings – It was observed that SMEs have implemented different property-level protection measures and generic business continuity/risk management measures, based on their requirements, to achieve a desired level of protection. Practical implications – SMEs are likely to positively respond to property-level adaptation following a post-flood situation. It is important that information such as costs/benefits of such measures and different options available are made accessible to SMEs affected by a flood event. Social implications – Implementation of property-level adaptation measures will contribute towards the long term adaptation of the existing building stock to changing climatic conditions. Originality/value – The paper contributes towards policy making on flood risk adaptation and SME decision making, and informs policy makers and practitioners.

Extreme weather events and construction SMEs:vulnerability, impacts and responses

Purpose – The UK experienced a number of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) during recent years and a significant number of businesses were affected as a result. With the intensity and frequency of weather extremes predicted in the future, enhancing the resilience of businesses, especially of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), who are considered as highly vulnerable, has become a necessity. However, little research has been undertaken on how construction SMEs respond to the risk of EWEs. In seeking to help address this dearth of research, this investigation sought to identify how construction SMEs were being affected by EWEs and the coping strategies being used. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods research design was adopted to elicit information from construction SMEs, involving a questionnaire survey and case study approach. Findings – Results indicate a lack of coping strategies among the construction SMEs studied. Where the coping strategies have been implemented, these were found to be extensions of their existing risk management strategies rather than radical measures specifically addressing EWEs. Research limitations/implications – The exploratory survey focused on the Greater London area and was limited to a relatively small sample size. This limitation is overcome by conducting detailed case studies utilising two SMEs whose projects were located in EWE prone localities. The mixed method research design adopted benefits the research by presenting more robust findings. Practical implications – A better way of integrating the potential of EWEs into the initial project planning stage is required by the SMEs. This could possibly be achieved through a better risk assessment model supported by better EWE prediction data. Originality/value – The paper provides an original contribution towards the overarching agenda of resilience of SMEs and policy making in the area of EWE risk management. It informs both policy makers and practitioners on issues of planning and preparedness against EWEs.

Alliances in construction

Purpose ? This paper aims to prove that alliances in the construction industry can be used as vehicles to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach ? The paper first sets out a theoretical proposition through a literature review and synthesis, then details an empirical case study in the construction industry to investigate the theoretical proposition. Findings ? The findings indicate the existence of the ?project based mindset?, within the working practices of the different players in construction alliances. This overly narrow project focus constrains the process of achieving sustainable competitive advantage for alliances. Research limitations/implications ? This research, in broad terms, provides insights on the value of long-term orientated collaboration in construction alliances and specifically target practitioners by identifying benefits of balancing alliance tasks and activities among senior executives and project managers in an appropriate way. Originality/value ? The paper makes an original contribution to the general body of knowledge on alliances and specifically to construction alliances by identifying the core value addition in the process of long-term orientated collaboration so that the processes are carefully designed, interpreted and nurtured in practice. Also, recommends initiatives by the alliance management to redesign tasks and activities such that collaboration becomes part-and-parcel of senior executives and project managers? daily routine, rather than considering collaborative encounters as extra activities that need ?slack? time.

Privatisation and manpower capability development: Cases from the Libyan house building sector

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the current status of manpower capability, and to identify the key factors that influenced the development of manpower capability within private house building companies in Libya.Design/methodology/approach – The aim and the proposition of the research are set out after a literature review and synthesis. Then a multiple case study approach is adopted to conduct exploratory case studies into joint venture housing projects.Findings – The findings of the study confirm that there should be an interlinked tripartite strategy between the Government, foreign investors and local private house building firms to improve manpower capability so that the Governments housing targets are achieved and sustained. The proposed integrated framework offers a targeted approach to achieve a stepped change in achieving both a quantitative and qualitative growth in housing.Originality/value – The paper makes an original contribution to the knowledge on joint venture house building in dev...

Theorizing construction industry practice within a disaster risk reduction setting: is it a panacea or an illusion?

Construction industry practice is strongly influenced by the culture surrounding its operations and, with the prevailing emphasis on achieving efficiency, there is a strong focus on outcome metrics such as profitability and employee productivity. With the recent increases in natural hazard events worldwide, and the likelihood that this will worsen still further with anticipated climate changes, the industry is increasingly contributing to building resilience within disaster-affected communities. Existing industry expertise, its educational approaches and the related theoretical frameworks, however, all require adjustment if these changing needs are to be fully addressed. Most importantly, an agenda shift is required from the philosophical side and a more pragmatic approach is needed if community resilience goals and objectives are to be met, rather than the narrower focus of the current metrics-driven management system. A synthesis of the current literature is therefore presented, along with relevant case histories illustrating how such an agenda shift within a disaster management context may influence the development of appropriate theory, as well as impacting upon grass-roots educational requirements. The research concludes by discussing how the ‘mainstreaming’ of disaster management within construction industry practice could drive forward developments in theorizing expertise and educational provisions across the constituent disciplines.

A conceptual framework for understanding resilience of construction SMEs to extreme weather events

Purpose Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which form a significant portion in many economies, are some of the most vulnerable to the impact of Extreme Weather Events (EWEs). This is of particular importance to the construction industry, as an overarching majority of construction companies are SMEs who account for the majority of employment and income generation within the industry. In the UK, previous research has identified construction SMEs as some of the worst affected by EWEs. Design/methodology/approach Given the recent occurrences of EWEs and predictions suggesting increases in both the intensity and frequency of EWEs in the future, improving the resilience of construction SMEs is vital for achieving a resilient construction industry. A conceptual framework is first developed which is then populated and expanded based on empirical evidence. Positioned within a pragmatic research philosophy, case study research strategy was adopted as the overall research strategy in undertaking this investigation. Findings Based on the findings of two in-depth case studies of construction SMEs, a framework was developed to represent EWE resilience of construction SMEs, where resilience was seen as a collective effect of vulnerability, coping strategies and coping capacities of SMEs, characteristics of the EWE and the wider economic climate. Originality/value The paper provides an original contribution towards the overarching agenda of the resilience of SMEs, and policy making in the area of EWE risk management by presenting a novel conceptual framework depicting the resilience of medium-sized construction companies.

Maximising Social Interactions and Effectiveness within Distance Learning Courses: Cases from Construction

Abstract Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness.

Assessing climate risks across different business sectors and industries: An investigation of methodological challenges at national scale for the UK

Climate change poses severe risks for businesses, which companies as well as governments need to understand in order to take appropriate steps to manage those. This, however, represents a significant challenge as climate change risk assessment is itself a complex, dynamic and geographically diverse process. A wide range of factors including the nature of production processes and value chains, the location of business sites as well as relationships and interdependencies with customers and suppliers play a role in determining if and how companies are impacted by climate risks. This research explores the methodological challenges for a national-scale assessment of climate risks through the lens of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (UKCCRA) process and compares the approaches adopted in the first and second UKCCRA (2011, 2016), while also reflecting on international experiences elsewhere. A review of these issues is presented, drawing on a wide body of contemporary evidence from a range of sources including the research disciplines, grey literature and government policy. The study reveals the methodological challenges and highlights six broad themes, namely scale, evidence base, adaptation responses, scope, interdependencies and public policy. The paper concludes by identifying suitable lessons for future national climate risk assessments, which should guide the next phase of research in preparation for UKCCRA3 and those of national-level risk assessments elsewhere. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy’.