Farrukh Arif

Venture Capital Opportunities in Green Building Technologies: A Strategic Analysis for Emerging Entrepreneurial Companies in South Florida and Latin America

AbstractVenture capital is an investment intended to finance high-risk companies, and particularly entrepreneurs such as those dedicated to the development of new and innovative technologies. Venture capitalists provide such investments because entrepreneurs may have difficulty obtaining loans from banks due to high interest rates, the risks involved in the technological arena, and the absence of a proven track record. However, the rate of success for venture capital investments has been unconvincing. Given this poor success rate, there is a need for comprehensive research to assist entrepreneurs and investors in understanding the opportunities and difficulties of start-up venture capital investments in green building technologies. This paper not only analyzes the current trends of venture capital investments in green building and construction technologies, but also outlines a potential course of action. The findings of the study show that the future of venture capital investment opportunities is very bri...

Theoretical framework for transportation infrastructure asset management based on review of best practices

The transportation agencies have historically focused on major building and expansion of roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure. However, the emphasis has drastically shifted from development of new infrastructure to intelligently maintaining the existing one. In recent years, budget tightening and increasing demands had also impacted the allocation of funds in transportation infrastructure. This situation has lead to emphasize the development of asset management systems. At its core, asset management is a business process that often changes the way of thinking in an organization and drives the decisions based on information. A strong asset management system provides a solid foundation that optimizes the performance and cost effectiveness of transportation facilities’ operations and maintenance. Keeping in mind, this paper provides an overview of transportation infrastructure asset management. It provides a review of the best practices adopted by different transportation infrastructure agencies internationally & United States. The review shows that the front runners in the asset management system internationally are Australia while Michigan takes the lead in US. Finally, based on the review of best practices, a theoretical framework for transportation infrastructure asset management has been proposed. The framework is focused on six important aspects of an asset management system i.e. asset management organization and concept, planning, contractual arrangement and mechanisms, monitoring and performance measurement, information systems and decision making.

Counterfeiting Risk Governance in the Capital Projects Supply Chain

The capital projects supply chain has proved to be vulnerable to disruption by counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items (CFSI). The challenges associated with CFSI are intensified considering the project-based nature of industry that involves diverse actors and a complex supply-chain structure. The aim of this research is to study governance of the risks associated with CFSI in the capital projects supply chain. First, the status of the industry regarding CFSI is updated through a multistaged survey of the industry. An analysis of the survey results underscores the lack of awareness in the construction industry about the risks associated with CFSI and highlights the need for guidelines and collaboration at the industry level. A comparative study of CFSI risks and mitigation procedures in other industries echoes these needs. Therefore, mitigation strategies and practices are explored, and a framework to govern the risk of CFSI in the capital projects supply chain is proposed. An implementation roadmap is also recommended as a two-phased collaborative approach at the construction company and industry levels based on the proposed framework.

Judiciary’s Use of the Critical Path Method to Resolve Construction Claims

The number and magnitude of disputes between contractors and owners continues to be a serious problem in the construction industry. Even with technological advancements in project scheduling, delay claims persist. When compromises between the parties are not possible, claims are often presented to a court of law or board of contract appeal. These judicial entities have relied on the critical path method (CPM) as a tool to resolve these disputes. Moreover, they have recognized the CPM as legal evidence in assessing the responsibility and damage amount for delays associated with construction projects. The first part of this paper provides brief background information on major types of construction delays, basics of the CPM, use of the CPM in delay analysis methods, and use of the CPM by industry practitioners. In the second part, a discussion of how courts have used the CPM to resolve construction claims over the past decade is followed by three in-depth case studies that feature CPM as the critical factor ...

Opportunities for Value Extraction Projects in Highway Rights-of-Way and Development of Feasibility Assessment Tool

State departments of transportation (DOTs) have been trying to identify alternative and innovative sources of revenue and cost savings. One potential solution to funding issues that has gained recent attention is value extraction from highway rights-of-way (ROW). In this paper, first, the state-of-the-practice of value extraction projects in highway ROWs is established. Next, detailed analysis is conducted regarding three high-priority value extraction projects chosen by the Florida DOT including solar photovoltaic, light emitting diode (LED) lighting, and agricultural uses. The feasibility screening tools introduced in this paper integrate all of the research findings from the literature review, survey of state DOTs, and case studies of select projects and programs. The screening tools provide in a tabular form a thorough list of various technical and financial criteria that play an important role in choosing and implementing the related value extraction projects. The information provided for the individual value extraction project types can be used as a platform to successfully design and manage those projects in the highway ROW.

Concurrent Delays in Construction: International Legal Perspective

AbstractThe term “concurrent delays” describes the situation when more than one delay occurs simultaneously, either of which would alone delay the overall project. The responsibility of concurrent delays is usually attributable to opposing parties to the contract, such as owner and contractor. This often leads to disputes concerning the extent to which each of the parties is responsible for project delay. Lack of agreement on the approach to properly apportion the damages because of concurrent delays exists throughout the various legal systems worldwide. Most of the time, judgments with respect to apportionment because of concurrent delays by courts are based upon precedents and case law owing to lack of agreed to legal practice. Realizing such need, this study overviews and compares various approaches adopted by courts with respect to ruling on concurrent delay claims and apportionment under different legal system legal systems including the United States (U.S.), Canada, United Kingdom (U.K.), and Austra...

Strategic Management Concepts and Practices in Pakistan: A Construction Industry Perspective

Construction industry is generally regarded as project based industry. Construction Project Management places large emphasize on planning and execution of the projects due to this project based nature of industry. Construction firms only consider project performance, the parameter to measure success, neglecting importance of strategic planning and management for higher profitability and quality business operations. Rapidly changing social and technological issues are creating such a professional environment that will enhance the need of strategically defining organization’s goals in the construction industry in coming decades. To meet such a challenge, requires identification of current industry level practices. This study tries to identify the current nature of strategic management concepts and practices by the construction firms in Pakistan. Results have shown that strategy evaluation, research and development and use of management information system as a decision tools lacks in the construction industry. It is recommended that construction industry should join hands with the academia to undertake certain research & development projects that can benefit both of the parties.

Holding Homebuilders Liable for Personal Injury and Property Damage Caused by Defective Material: Chinese Drywall Case

AbstractFaced with the stark reality that Chinese drywall manufacturers might not respond to American judgments, some homeowners affected by Chinese drywall excluded them from their lawsuits. Instead, these homeowners sought redress exclusively from homebuilders. This paper focuses on this unique approach of suing only the homebuilder that built the home with defective Chinese drywall and proposes that homeowners be given the opportunity to utilize the same legal theories available to other product consumers. This paper provides relevant background information on the subject matter and presents four common legal theories homeowners can use against homebuilders. The paper provides existing law for each legal theory and analogous case law involving other defective construction materials. Finally, in the conclusions section, the paper provides a discussion on why homeowners should sue homebuilders exclusively and how the courts should respond to the Chinese drywall problem.