Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem

Developing a green-building design approach by selective use of systems and techniques

ABSTRACT Building sustainability is subject to rational use of green-building systems and techniques. A suitable combination of these systems and techniques is at the heart of design parameters. To achieve user comfort and health as well as environmental protection and long-term economic benefits, designers must optimize combinations of particular systems and techniques. It is imperative to have efficient design strategies for achieving optimum solutions and effectively leading the complex process of selecting system and technique combinations to be integrated in overall design. With goal to optimize design effort, this research aims to propose different methodologies to help incorporate various green-building systems and techniques in design process. Systems and techniques prioritized by relative weights may ease the design process. Hence, with a focus on semi-arid climatic conditions, interviews are conducted from researchers and building practitioners who help express design priorities. Use of these priorities through the proposed design approach in case study of a sustainable residential building validates the workability of design methodology. Consequently, a model is proposed for integration of all three sustainability dimensions as design criteria in building simulation programs, facilitating the realization of green-building design.

Six Sigma in construction: a review of critical success factors

Purpose This paper aims at collecting and reviewing the published literature on the Six Sigma in construction along with its critical success factors (CSFs). Design/methodology/approach The research is based on literature review. Based on the keyword and semantic search techniques, papers published on the topic of Six Sigma during 2000-2015 are retrieved. Frequency analysis is performed to find out significance of identified CSFs, and zoning is performed based on the product of frequency of appearance and parties affected by the CSFs. Findings A total of 69 CSFs are identified as published in the literature. Based on an inclusion criterion of minimum 15 appearances, 22 CSFs are shortlisted for further analysis. Of these CSFs, around 32 per cent fall into red zone (most critical), 50 per cent into yellow and 18 per cent into green zone (least critical). Research limitations/implications This work is limited by partial identification of CSFs. Though based on an extensive search, the retrieved CSFs may not be all the published ones. However, more thorough search techniques can be applied to improve upon this work. Practical implications The findings can be used to facilitate the decision-making in the context of project success. Originality/value This work is an original attempt at gathering Six Sigma CSFs applicable to construction projects. It may be used for further research and development to help ensure project quality and success.

A review of public-private partnership: critical factors of concession period

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical decision factors of public–private partnership (PPP) concession which is complex due to a number of uncertain and random variables. To identify critical factors contributing to determination of concession period, this study reviews the published literature. It also identifies countries contributing most in PPP research. As a whole, it provides a mutually beneficial scenario by formulating a decision-making matrix. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the literature published during the period 2005-2015. A two-staged methodology is followed on retrieved scholarly papers: first, countries contributing to PPP are identified along with authors and affiliated institutions. Second, using frequency analysis of shortlisted critical factors, yearly appearance and stakeholders affected, a decision matrix is formulated. Findings The most contributing country toward PPP research is China, followed by the USA both in terms of country- and author-based contribution. In total, 63 factors are identified that affect PPP concession out of which, 8 per cent are highly critical and 21 per cent are marginally critical for decision-making. Practical implications Critical factors of PPP concession period will be identified with the help of decision-making matrix. This will help in adequate resource allocation for handling critical factors ensuring project success. Researchers may also understand the research trends in the past decade to usher ways for future improvements. Originality/value This paper reports findings of an original and innovative study, which identifies critical success factors of PPP concession period and synthesizes them into a decision-making matrix. Many of the previous studies have identified and ranked the critical factors but such a synthesis has not been reported.

Influence of Six Sigma on project success in construction industry of Pakistan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of implementation of Six Sigma (SS) in the construction industry of Pakistan along with the current state of affairs and the challenges, and opportunities for a successful implementation. Design/methodology/approach The research is purely exploratory in nature. Based on published work, critical success factors are gathered, and a number of questionnaire surveys and interviews are conducted to refine and quantify their impact. A system dynamics framework to assess the SS influence on project success is developed and case study project are simulated. Findings The construction industry of Pakistan is still functioning in a traditional way; marred with low level of awareness and ad hoc approaches, the findings point to a huge improvement opportunity. Further, when under planning projects are exposed to SS, the chances of project success improve better than under execution projects. Research limitations/implications The limited level of awareness possessed by the respondents constrains the possible outreach of this work in industrially developed contexts. However, this work may become an impetus for further research in managing quality in construction industry. Practical implications The findings can be used to improve the quality provision of construction projects. Originality/value This work may trigger an important debate over the research and implementation of SS in the construction industry of developing countries that may greatly benefit by improving the quality of their projects and rectify their diminishing reputation for project success.

Empirical Evidence of Extension of Time in Construction Projects

AbstractAlmost all construction projects face delays resulting in extension of time (EOT) or liquidated damages, depending upon which of the two parties absorbs the responsibility as per terms of t...

Estimated Cost at Completion: Integrating Risk into Earned Value Management

AbstractEarned value management (EVM) is an industry standard for monitoring the performance of ongoing projects. The performance baseline is set up in the planning phase to measure any time and cost deviations during project execution. Based on the current progress, an estimate at completion (EAC) is forecasted. Traditionally, EVM only focuses on the project schedule (SPI) and cost (CPI), and does not address other important aspects of health and safety, stakeholder satisfaction, and quality. Despite its superior formulation, EVM forecasts are still influenced by project risks and uncertainties, leading to inconsistency between EAC results obtained through standard formulae. In order to estimate better EAC, a framework is developed that incorporates various key performance indicators into the risk performance index (RPI). Using SPI, CPI, and RPI, an integrated model is developed and a number of case studies are run to validate it. The findings indicate a better EAC when compared to traditional methods. I...

Concession period of public private partnership projects: industry–academia gap analysis

ABSTRACT With increasing global adoption, various critical aspects of public–private partnership (PPP) concessions are highlighted. One such aspect is the way academia and industry perceive and weigh different critical success factors (CSFs) of PPP concession. Due to difference of perception, considerable temporal as well as opinion gap exists between the two knowledge streams, leading to improper resource allocation and inadequate decision-making. This study identifies CSFs and quantifies the gap between the two streams using a detailed methodology of identifying CSFs from extensive literature review published during period 2005–2015, and ranking those CSFs separately through questionnaire surveys from 60 industrial and 56 academic experts having thorough experience of various types of PPP. Based upon responses, 8–9 years’ gap between both streams is found. For 18% CSFs, opinion difference is greater than 50% pointing to a weaker collaboration. Decision-makers can understand the gap between both streams and develop policy framework for their collaboration. Better resource management can be ensured leading to improved chances of project success. Academia can expand upon the identified CSFs and explore their interactions on individual and cumulative levels. This will bridge gap and induce the ever desired mutualism between the two streams.

Prioritizing Best Value Contributing Factors for Contractor Selection: An AHP Approach

Construction procurement has evolved from low-bid system to Best Value (BV). This paper presents BV based contractor selection mechanism using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). BV process postulates the selection of contractor who can deliver the project in best possible way in terms of budget, quality, customer satisfaction and other success criteria. AHP is used to prioritize BV contributing factors (CFs) critical to contractor selection. This paper examines the CFs identified from literature published from 2000 to 2015 and provides the project owners a methodology of quantifying their relative effects in selecting BV contractor. The results indicate that past performance is the most significant among the 15 factors considered in contractor selection followed by cost. This is mainly due to resistance to change which encourages reputation-based procurement in construction industry blocking way for new entrants. This study helps value based contractor selection rather than the traditional low bid system. Further, it can be used by all stakeholders in a contract: client for BV contractor selection, contractor for BV supplier and consultant for BV team selection. The study can be enhanced in future to include all parties to a contract and ensure a win-win-win contracting model.

Labor Productivity Assessment Using Activity Analysis on Semi High-Rise Building Projects in Pakistan

Construction organizations strive to increase their competitiveness by reducing the project costs especially labor cost. Optimizing labor productivity will ensure value for money. In the face of no guidelines available for local construction industry, research must be directed to benchmark construction labor productivity in building projects of Pakistan. Based on a thorough review of established productivity assessment methods, Activity Analysis is performed on five local semi high-rise building projects. Statistical analysis is carried out to identify labor productivity trends in seven standard areas. Further, sensitivity analysis is carried out to characterize the positive and negative influencers. It is revealed that labor spends a little more than one-third of working time in direct and support activities each, and one-quarter in delay activities. Furthermore, delay and support activities are correlated with direct work. Direct work is observed at its peak during midday hours, and lowest during the start and end of workday. The study is an original effort in benchmarking the labor productivity in construction projects of Pakistan. Based on the findings, productivity improvement strategies are proposed from which projects can benefit in the form of optimized costs and schedules. Results are of relevance towards understanding the labor productivity in developing countries.