Farzad Khosrowshahi

Roadmap for implementation of BIM in the UK construction industry

Purpose – Building information modelling (BIM) implementation is a major change management task, involving diversity of risk areas. The identification of the challenges and barriers is therefore an imperative precondition of this change process. This paper aims to diagnose UKs construction industry to develop a clear understanding about BIM adoption and to form an imperative step of consolidating collective movements towards wider BIM implementation and to provide strategies and recommendations for the UK construction industry for BIM implementation.Design/methodology/approach – Through comprehensive literature review, the paper initially establishes BIM maturity concept, which paves the way for the analysis via qualitative and quantitative methods: interviews are carried out with high profile organisations in Finland to gauge the best practice before combining the results with the analysis of survey questionnaire amongst the major contractors in the UK.Findings – The results are established in the form ...

Estimation of project total cost and duration for housing projects in the U.K.

Abstract There are a number of variables which act individually and in combination to influence project total cost and duration. The extent of the effect of these variables is dependent on the nature of the project. A project is defined in terms of its constituent variables. This paper is concerned with a variety of project definitions within the category of housing projects in the U.K. The most influential variables are examined and, in quantified terms, the extent of the relationship between these variables and project total cost and duration is determined. To this end, two separate models are developed and proposed for the estimation of project cost and duration. While the model for the latter encompasses the former as a variable, the model for the estimation of project cost is independent from project duration.

Simulation of expenditure patterns of construction projects

The existing models for project budgeting and forecasting are either alienating to the user, or involve a laborious process of preparation. This is mainly due to the structure of the model, which itself is determined by the approach adopted in developing the model. In this paper, a new approach to model development based on the analysis and examination of the shape of the pattern of project expenditure is described and contrasted with the approaches that have been adopted so far. Also, the procedure for the generation of a model based on the new approach to model development is outlined. This is an attempt to overcome many of the shortcomings associated with the current models, by building on the many advantageous features of these models. It is anticipated that the approach adopted and the accompanying mathematical model can facilitate the provision of a balanced combination of ease of application, user involvement and user comprehension.

A decision support model for construction cash flow management

The excessive level of construction business failures and their association with financial difficulties has placed financial management in the forefront of many business imperatives. This has highlighted the importance of cash flow forecasting and management that has given rise to the development of several forecasting models. The traditional approach to the use of project financial models has been largely a project-oriented perspective. However, the dominating role of “project economics” in shaping “corporate economics” tends to place the corporate strategy at the mercy of the projects. This article approaches the concept of cash flow forecasting and management from a fresh perspective. Here, the use of forecasting models is extended beyond their traditional role as a guideline for monitoring and control of progress. They are regarded as tools for driving the project in the direction of corporate goals. The work is based on the premise that the main parties could negotiate the terms and attempt to complement their priorities. As part of this approach, a model is proposed for forecasting and management of project cash flow. The mathematical component of the model integrates three modules: an exponential and two fourth-degree polynomials. The model generates a forecast by potentially combining the outcome of data analysis with the experience and knowledge of the forecaster/organization. In light of corporate objectives, the generated forecast is then manipulated and replaced by a range of favorable but realistic cash flow profiles. Finally, through a negotiation with other parties, a compromised favorable cash flow is achieved. This article will describe the novel way the model is used as a decision support tool. Although the structure of the model and its mathematical components are described in detail, the data processing and analysis parts are briefly described and referenced accordingly. The viability of the model and the approach are demonstrated by means of a scenario.

Visualisation of building maintenance through time

The use of 3D visualisation has long been established as a major breakthrough in closing the gap between a clients need and what is perceived by the designer to be the need of the client. Nevertheless, construction clients are increasingly demanding a greater participation in the process of design generation. This has been a welcome move by all parties, as less variation means less conflict. In spite of its vast practical uses, in the field of visualisation, the ability to travel through time is an area that has been neglected by the academics and the developers alike. The paper highlights the benefits of the incorporation of the 4/sup th/ dimension-the time dimension-into 3D visualisation. Building maintenance is used as a case study to demonstrate the practicality of the 4D visualisation and its representation through VRML. To this end, the focus is on the lighting, paints and carpets. However, the concept can easily be expanded to encompass the causes and effects of all events on all building components.

A model for smoothing time-series data in construction

The understanding of the behaviour of time‐series data has been a matter of concern to researchers and practitioners in a variety of fields ranging from social science and economics to engineering. Also, the behaviour of many phenomena within fields relating and peripheral to construction is described as a time series. Typically, the time‐series analysis is carried out in order to forecast the future values of the series. These techniques, however, are also used to abstract the generalities within the series, hence facilitating the replication of the entire profile, reflecting only the main characteristics of the profile. There is a variety of techniques that can be applied to a set of time‐related data. The choice of the technique is, therefore, dependent on the nature of the problem and the characteristics of the data. The diversity of available techniques is, on the one hand an advantage for all analysts. However, this diversity is also an indication that there is no universal technique that is applicable to a diversity of time‐series data. This work fundamentally addresses the issue of smoothing and curve‐fitting techniques rather than predicting and forecasting. A technique is offered which is tested against a set of criteria that are designed to focus on the accuracy of imitation and the practicality of operation: the ability to deal with a large number of time‐series sets of data in a consistent, replicable and automated way. The viability of the technique is demonstrated by its application to expenditure profiles of a large number of construction projects. The size of the sample and the diversity in the profiles of the expenditure patterns provided an appropriate testing ground for the universality of the model. The results indicated that the model can effectively transform a jagged time series into a smooth pattern, while complying with a set of criteria many of which are common to several other research works relating to time‐series data analysis. The proposed technique sequences a number of basic smoothing methods and the process involves the treatment and incorporation of the residual values.

Visualisation of the degradation of building flooring systems

The development of a maintenance programme for construction projects is a highly complex and data intensive undertaking. This exercise is characterised by the lack of relevant data on the one hand and the overwhelming amount of irrelevant data on the other. This is partly due to the existence of numerous events which act upon the building and that all buildings contain many components, each with several varieties. The complexity of the process is exacerbated by the fact that the interaction between the events and building components extends over the lifetime of the project. The uncertainties and complexities have resulted in increased conservatism in the development of life cycle evaluation of building performance and maintenance programme development. Subsequently, almost all maintenance programmes tend to display the symptoms of one or both of the following pitfalls: maintenance actions are too early, thus uneconomical; and maintenance actions are too late, thus compromising the quality of service. The current research project is based on the premise that the visual approach to maintenance programme development offers a viable solution to the above pitfalls. However, the retrospective nature of the problem suggests that the only practical visual approach is one which relies on the use of virtual simulation of the building. Therefore the aim of the broader research is to develop a 4D visual model of building degradation through time. The focus is on building flooring systems.

Accelerating the Implementation of BIM by Integrating the Developments Made in Knowledge Management: An Irish Construction Industry Perspective

In Ireland the construction sector is at the initial stages of assessing and adapting Building Information Management BIM on pilot projects. At an initial summary review BIM could be seen as a fad that will burn out as quickly as it appeared. Many of the concepts associated with BIM are grounded in Co-ordinated Project Information CPI, Integrated Project Delivery IPD and object modelling which have been developed over the last 20-30 years. This research presents the critical success factors CSF associated with knowledge management KM and investigates the correlation of these with the development and integration of BIM within the construction industry in Ireland. These CSF will be addressed in the context of assessing maturity levels prior to integrating KM or BIM. Determining the CSF will accelerate the implementation of BIM. Developing a BIM CSF Analysis Model will assist in assessing a companys readiness to embark on BIM projects.

Information visualisation in aid of construction project cash flow management

Any negotiation involves consideration of several variables which act independently and collectively to determine the configuration of alternative outcomes. The numerical analysis of alternative options can be a tedious and lengthy exercise, thus inhibiting the negotiator from making informed decisions and indeed achieving the optimum benefit. Construction project financial management is an example where all related variables are up for negotiation between the main parities: the client, contractor and sub-contractors. This paper builds on the works previously introduced at IV conferences where the potential of the visual approach to the analysis of growth patterns was illustrated and the respective mathematical expressions were introduced. The paper collates these works into a conclusive visual method for instantaneous analysis of several variables that are influential in configuring construction project finance, thus preparing the contractor for informed negotiation with other parties.

A mathematical‐based model for company‐level budgeting incorporating future unknown contracts

Purpose – One of the main challenges facing construction contractors is incorporating future unknown contracts into their annual financial budgets. This paper sets out to review current academic work in this area and to argue that computer‐based simulation techniques are too complex to be adopted in the industry. Therefore, an alternative and a mathematically‐based technique needs to be developed and evaluated.Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes that, as the pattern of winning construction contracts lacks any seasonality, it may be possible to assume all future work to be starting at one point in time and, by using an average standard value build‐up curve, average duration and the total value work needed, contractors will be able to estimate the total value of contracts needed to achieve a target turnover. Based on the total value of contracts to be won, a proposed mathematical equation is then used to assess the levels of working capital requirements.Findings – The paper evaluates the propos...