Keith D. Hampson

Project alliancing vs project partnering: a case study of the Australian National Museum Project

Significant differences between project partnering and project alliancing occur in the selection process, management structure of the organisations undertaking the project and nature of risk and reward incentives. This paper helps clarify the nature of project alliancing and how alliance member organisations were selected for this case study. A core issue that differentiates between the two approaches is that in partnering, partners may reap rewards at the expense of other partners. In alliancing each alliance member places their profit margin and reward structure “at risk”. Thus in alliancing, the entire alliance entity either benefits together or not all. This fundamentally changes the motivation and dynamics of the relationship between alliance members.

An example of developing a business model for information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption on construction projects – the National Museum of Australia project

Effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is necessary for delivering efficiency and improved project delivery in the construction industry. Convincing clients or contracting organisations to embrace ICT is a difficult task, there are few templates of an ICT business model for the industry to use. ICT application in the construction industry is relatively low compared to automotive and aerospace industries. The National Museum of Australia project provides a unique opportunity for investigating and reporting on this deficiency in publicly available knowledge. Concentrates on the business model content and objectives, briefly indicates the evaluation framework that was used to evaluate ICT effectiveness.

Achieving a responsive industrial relations environment for construction industry workers: a project alliancing case study

This paper outlines how the project agreement operating on the Australian National Museum project in Canberra, Australia facilitated a responsible and responsive workplace environment for construction workers. A project alliancing approach was adopted and designed to encourage industrial relations innovation in the workplace. The trigger for this approach was the perceived success of the alliancing working arrangements between key project delivery teams and a desire to extend this arrangement to subcontractors, suppliers and the workforce. Changes in the Australian workplace relations environment and introduction of a national code of practice for the Australian construction industry provided impetus for reaching a new type of workplace agreement. The workplace culture and characteristics of relationships formed between workers and management on that site shaped the agreed terms and conditions of work. It also spurred the pursuit of innovative approaches to project delivery from a technology, management and workplace culture perspective.

R&D investment and impact in the global construction industry

Innovation is generally considered to contribute to the competitive success of fi rms in many different ways (Tidd & Bessant, 2009). Due to the increasingly shorter lifecycle of products and services, fi rms are urged to innovate at a faster pace. Additionally, construction fi rms are faced with the need to innovate in order to succeed in a more competitive market and to respond to the increased societal pressure to meet the demand for sustainable and cleaner industrial production, higher quality output, lower costs and higher added value. Despite its many cross-industry relations, the construction industry is a tradition-based sector and lags behind in innovativeness when compared to, for example, the manufacturing industries. Interactions throughout the construction supply chain are ad hoc, project based, and knowledge is protected due to perceived uncertainties and vulnerability to risks (Egmond & Mohammadi, 2011). This forms a barrier to learning and knowledge exchange of R&D fi ndings and project experiences that is detrimental to innovation (Franco, et al., 2004).R&D Investment and Impact in the Global Construction Industry brings together contributions from leading industry researchers in a diverse group of countries to investigate the role of research and development (R&D) in the construction industry. Investment in R&D is a proven factor in economic growth, and helps develop a more productive and innovative industry. This book explores how policy makers and industry leaders can better target future investment; and how industry practitioners and researchers can manage their efforts to improve productivity while addressing environmental and social needs of their communities. Case studies present projects where R&D ideas funded by both the private and public sectors have been translated from research into practice or policy, and examine drivers, successes and barriers to the delivery of R&D in industry. Based on research from members of the CIB Task Group 85 (R&D Investment and Impact) and concluding with key insights for maximising the impact of R&D in the future, the book holds valuable lessons for practitioners, policy makers and researchers across the international construction industry. The book will be officially launched at the World Sustainable Building 2014 Conference in Barcelona, Spain on 30 October 2014. Investing for Impact: Constructing a Better Built Environment, an industry-focussed prelude to the book, launched by the Australian Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb at the CIB World Building Congress 2013 in Brisbane, Australia, is also available free of charge.

Evaluation framework for green procurement in road construction

Purpose – Most barriers and enablers of sustainable projects are related to procurement. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for evaluating green procurement practices throughout the lifecycle of road construction projects and demonstrates its application through an Australian case study. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on linking the phases of road construction with incentive mechanisms for proactively motivating behavioural change. A holistic view on utilised and potential incentives is attempted with a literature review and a state-of-practice review. The latter is based on interviews and 90 policy and procurement documents across five Australian states. Findings – An evaluation framework with seven procurement stages is suggested to describe current state green procurement incentives throughout the delivery lifecycle of road construction projects. The Australian case study was found to provide useful data to identify gaps and strong points of the different states regar...

Challenges in the Construction of a Lunar Base

The construction of a Lunar Base is seen as achievable. The paper provides a useful summary of challenges facing pioneers of lunar base construction. It highlights important aspects of the location and use of the facility, the local environment, the human physiological adaptation process, and a principal concern for the construction industry—construction materials and methods required to erect the facility. Specific emphasis is placed on the latter two major issues. The authors believe that a lunar base will be built, operated and maintained by humans. It may be the next generation that carry out these dreams, but it is research of the type reported in this paper that will make these dreams a reality.

Use of contract models to improve environmental outcomes in transport infrastructure construction

The type of contract model may have a significant influence on achieving project objectives, including environmental and climate change goals. This research investigates non-standard contract models impacting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in transport infrastructure construction in Australia. The research is based on the analysis of two case studies: an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract and a Design and Construct (D&C) contract with GHG reduction requirements embedded in the contractor selection. Main findings support the use of ECIs for better integrating decisions made during the planning phase with the construction activities, and improve environmental outcomes while achieving financial and time savings.