Daniel Forgues

Teamwork in integrated design projects: Understanding the effects of trust, conflict, and collaboration on performance

Teamwork during integrated design projects is complex. We address this by investigating how trust, collaboration, and conflict evolve over time to affect performance. Our results stem from data gathered using validated self-report questionnaires with 38 participants in 5 multidisciplinary teams at three points in time during a 6-week integrated design competition. Results show that without collaboration, trust and conflict have no bearing on performance. In addition to an unambiguous practical outcome—fostering collaboration helps build trust and manage conflict—our study points to theoretical developments: as trust- and conflict-performance relations grow over time, so does collaborations mediating effect.

The influence of a collaborative procurement approach using integrated design in construction on project team performance

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to study the influence of procurement on the performance of integrated design teams.Design/methodology/approach – The research paradigm is based on Russian socio‐constructivist approach to activity theory. Activity theory, as opposed to natural or social science, is a design science approach that focuses on the context aspect of project. A triangulation of qualitative research methods is used to investigate the dynamic of integrated teams in two different procurement contexts.Findings – The paper is conclusive regarding the influence of procurement on team efficiency. It demonstrates that traditional procurement processes reinforce socio‐cognitive barriers that hinder team efficiency. It also illustrates how new procurement modes can transform the dynamic of relationships between the client and the members of the supply chain, and have a positive impact on team performance.Practical implications – The paper demonstrates first that problems with integrated design team ...

Embedded contexts of innovation: BIM adoption and implementation for a specialty contracting SME

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the radical innovation process behind the adoption and implementation of building information modelling (BIM) for a specialty contracting small or medium enterprise (SME). This paper offers two distinct perspectives on BIM adoption and implementation, which are underrepresented in the current literature: the SME perspective and the specialty contractor perspective. It also attempts to bridge the gap between the growing literature on BIM adoption and implementation and the established literature on innovation by developing the notion of embedded contexts in the innovation process. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method, longitudinal case study approach was used in this research project to study the evolution of the innovation process and its impact on the Organisation over time. The objectives of this research were to investigate and document the different factors mediating the BIM adoption and implementation process for the Organisation across various ...

Rethinking the cost estimating process through 5D BIM: A case study

This paper presents a comparative study of commercially available BIMbased estimating software, and an investigation of the changes in work practices and workflows incurred by the adoption of such software by a construction company. Due to the fragmentation of the construction industry and the linearity of the design process, cost estimating is typically performed at a time when the conceptual design is quite advanced or even completed, which is much too late in the design process to help the different stakeholders make informed decisions. Performing value engineering and cost estimation from the beginning of the design process would potentially enable a faster and more cost-effective project delivery process, higher quality buildings, and increased control and predictability for the owner. This research examines the changes in work practices and work flows within a construction company as they move towards adopting Building information Model (BIM) estimating process. To conduct this research, we: (1) tested several BIMbased cost estimating software tools to support different phases of design, (2) evaluated the benefits and challenges of working with this software, and (3) analyzed the work practices and workflows of a BIM-based estimating process within the firm. Finally, we propose a multi-stage technology adoption scenario. BACKGROUND Due to the fragmentation of the construction industry and the linearity of the design process, cost estimating is typically performed at a time when the conceptual design is quite advanced or even completed, which is much too late in the design process to help the different stakeholders make informed decisions. Oftentimes, this cost feedback highlights potential budget concerns and a cost engineering process will be performed to reduce construction costs, often at the expense of building performance and construction quality. Performing value engineering and cost estimating from the beginning of the design process would potentially enable a faster

Collaboration through innovation: implications for expertise in the AEC sector

Collaboration is key for successful delivery of building projects in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector. Innovative project delivery approaches developed over the past two decades envision new ways of collaborating and specifically aim at improving the performance of and value generated by this key economic sector. Collaboration, however, remains an ill-defined and highly amorphous concept. This makes it difficult to investigate and consequently develop a body of knowledge, which is central to defining a field of expertise in this area. The aim of this investigation is to explore the notion of an expertise in collaboration in the AEC sector and the implications of these innovative project delivery approaches on this expertise. The concept of collaboration is developed across five core entities: structure, process, agents, artefacts and context. These entities are then framed through a critical realist lens to lay the groundwork for a body of knowledge of collaboration in the AEC sector. The impact of the current shift to these innovative approaches is investigated within this framing. The findings set a course of action to develop a body of knowledge and a field of expertise on collaboration in the AEC sector.

Interdisciplinary team learning in the context of integrated design studio

Scientific literature and practical experience point out fragmentation of the building design process as one of the reasons for ineffective design and construction processes. This paper proposes interdisciplinary team learning in the context of an integrated design studio as a successful approach for both: achieving sustainable design solutions and transforming disciplinary cultures into integrated practices. In a rather unique collaborative experience based on strategies from situated learning and activity theory, students with different design and construction backgrounds were placed in multidisciplinary (co-located) teams to work on a real architectural project with specific requirements for sustainability. This integrated design studio was timed in three intensive 2-day charrettes. A coherent digital environment for integrated design was proposed in order to meet the needs of the multidisciplinary teams. The results from this experience were very positive in respect to both individual and team learning.

Comparing PLM and BIM from the product structure standpoint

The increasing use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across the construction industry highlights the potential for a common endpoint with manufacturing industries. Previous research work has shown that it is possible to improve BIM with the features and the best practices from Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) approach. This article provides a comparison between the PLM and BIM approaches from the standpoint of the Product Structure (PS) and the Bill of Material (BOM). It discusses the need to explicit a structuring concept in the BIM approach in order be able to switch to an information-centric management approach in construction projects instead of the current activity-based approach.

An IDP-BIM Framework for Reshaping Professional Design Practices

Integrated design process (IDP) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) have been recognized as two approaches to address the problem of fragmentation in the construction industry. Adopting these processes and tools nonetheless requires drastic changes in design practices. There is a need for generating and formalizing new knowledge practices, and discarding obsolete ones. However, traditional approaches to create and transfer this new knowledge cannot cope with this need. This research builds on social learning theories, such as activity theory, to propose a situated learning environment in which BIM-related technologies are structured in an IDP framework. This learning environment is designed as a laboratory where traditional practices in planning, managing and designing construction projects can be challenged. BIM and simulation models, together with collaboration tools are used as boundary objects to break barriers between professional practices. Design teams, by adapting to this new environment, generate new practice knowledge. This knowledge is captured using ethnographic methods to enhance and consolidate the IDP framework. The proposed approach contributes to accelerating the co-generation of new knowledge practices within the proposed environment.

Understanding the impact of BIM on collaboration: a Canadian case study

ABSTRACT Facilitating collaboration amongst project stakeholders in the construction industry is one of the central tenants of building information modelling (BIM). While there is increasing evidence of the positive influence of BIM on project outcomes, ambiguity remains around BIM’s true impact on collaboration. The presented case study aims to develop insights into the impact of BIM on collaboration in the architecture, engineering and construction industry. A critical realist perspective was adopted and a systematic combining approach was employed to support data collection and analysis. Data were collected through a longitudinal case study of a large design–build project in Canada. The unit of analysis was the individual project team member. Five cognitive determinants identified from the analysis are seen to inform an individual’s framing of event patterns in the context of BIM-enabled collaboration: requirements, expectations, intentions, incentives and capabilities. From this perspective, the impact of BIM on collaboration is understood as a reshaping of an individual’s cognitive determinants, which influence a team member’s framing of event patterns enacted throughout project delivery. This shift is manifested by changing information landscapes, i.e. sources and flows of information, that are generated, shared and consumed within the project team.

Challenges of big data in the age of building information modeling: a high-level conceptual pipeline

N-dimensional BIM models integrate many aspects of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) projects information. These models are well structured and allow users to practically query them, however they are more and more combined with other data sources, provided e.g. by Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Building Automation Systems (BAS) or Facility Management (FM) systems. Construction project managers are facing an important challenge related to making meaningful deduction from these heterogeneous data sets. In this context the current data mining approaches are showing their limitations. Big Data is then gradually getting a reality in the construction industry. This paper characterizes AEC project management data following the conceptual definition of Big Data and proposes a high-level conceptual pipeline aiming at bridging the gap between BIM-based related visualization works and information visualization domain.