P. Lam

Application of Delphi method in selection of procurement systems for construction projects

A number of procurement selection systems have been developed over the last decade. The use of multi-attribute decision analysis has been considered the foremost technique for examining client needs and the weightings of preferences from experts for each procurement system in the most objective way available. However, the major difficulty of these selection models lies in the lack of consensus among the experts on the utility factor of the selection criteria. To overcome these deficiencies, a Delphi technique was adopted to develop a multi-attribute model. Four rounds of Delphi surveys were conducted. A statistically significant consensus on the weighting of the utility factors for each procurement system was obtained from eight experts. The results vividly reveal that the Delphi method is a powerful and appropriate technique for deriving objective opinions in a rather subjective area such as the multi-attribute model for the selection of procurement system.

Critical Success Factors for PPPs in Infrastructure Developments: Chinese Perspective

With the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, the desperate demand for infrastructure developments has created bottlenecks in the countrys sustainable development. Infrastructure investment could not be funded completely by the government alone. Taking Beijing as an example, there will be about 2,400 infrastructure projects to be developed during 2006-2010 with a total investment of over RMB 470 billion, which may impose budgetary pressure on the government. As a result, public-private partnership PPP could be considered as a favorable option to help provide these rapidly demanded public works and services. In order to investigate the potential for adopting PPPs in the Peoples Republic of China, this paper aims to explore the critical success factors CSFs necessary to conduct PPP projects. The views from Chinese experts were collected via an empirical questionnaire survey. The respondents were invited to rate a total of 18 CSFs that contribute to the success of PPP projects as gleaned from the contemporary literature. The results of this survey were analyzed by the factor analysis technique. The findings showed that the 18 CSFs could be grouped into five underlying factors including: Factor 1—stable macroeconomic environment; Factor 2—shared responsibility between public and private sectors; Factor 3—transparent and efficient procurement process; Factor 4—stable political and social environment; and Factor 5—judicious government control. DOI: 10.1061/ASCECO.1943-7862.0000152 CE Database subject headings: China; Infrastructure; Partnerships; Private sector; Procurement. Author keywords: China; Infrastructure; Partnerships; Private sector; Procurement.

Travel agents as facilitators or inhibitors of travel: perceptions of people with disabilities.

Travel agents remain the primary source for people with disabilities to purchase travel products. How effectively travel agents perform this task has a direct impact on the ability of people with disabilities to travel. A good travel agent can facilitate travel, while a poor one creates another obstacle to participation in travel by people with disabilities. This paper examines the perception of people with disabilities towards the effectiveness of travel agents in Hong Kong. For the most part, respondents suggest that travel agents are largely deficient in catering to the needs of this specialist market. Two causes were identified: attitudinal and structural. Travel agents are largely ignorant of the needs of people with disabilities, which leads to overt or subtle discrimination. In addition, the financial realities of the retail travel sector in Hong Kong force agents to push high commission, easy to book packaged tours that may not be suitable for the tourist with a disability.

Factors Predicting Rotator Cuff Retears An Analysis of 1000 Consecutive Rotator Cuff Repairs

Background: The rate of retears after rotator cuff repair varies from 11% to 94%. A retear is associated with poorer subjective and objective clinical outcomes than intact repair. Purpose: This study was designed to determine which preoperative and/or intraoperative factors held the greatest association with retears after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated 1000 consecutive patients who had undergone a primary rotator cuff repair by a single surgeon using an arthroscopic inverted-mattress knotless technique and who had undergone an ultrasound evaluation 6 months after surgery to assess repair integrity. Exclusion criteria included previous rotator cuff repair on the same shoulder, incomplete repair, and repair using a synthetic polytetrafluoroethylene patch. All patients had completed the modified L’Insalata Questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination before surgery. Measurements of tear size, tear thickness, associated shoulder injury, tissue quality, and tendon mobility were recorded intraoperatively. Results: The overall retear rate at 6 months after surgery was 17%. Retears occurred in 27% of full-thickness tears and 5% of partial-thickness tears (P < .0001). The best independent predictors of retears were anteroposterior tear length (correlation coefficient r = 0.41, P < .0001), tear size area (r = 0.40, P < .0001), mediolateral tear length (r = 0.34, P < .0001), tear thickness (r = 0.29, P < .0001), age at surgery (r = 0.27, P < .0001), and operative time (r = 0.18, P < .0001). These factors produced a predictive model for retears: logit P = (0.039 × age at surgery in years) + (0.027 × tear thickness in %) + (1 × anteroposterior tear length in cm) + (0.76 × mediolateral tear length in cm) – (0.17 × tear size area in cm2) + (0.018 × operative time in minutes) –9.7. Logit P can be transformed into P, which is the chance of retears at 6 months after surgery. Conclusion: A rotator cuff retear is a multifactorial process with no single preoperative or intraoperative factor being overwhelmingly predictive of it. Nevertheless, rotator cuff tear size (tear dimensions, tear size area, and tear thickness) showed stronger associations with retears at 6 months after surgery than did measures of tissue quality and concomitant shoulder injuries.

Drivers for Adopting Public Private Partnerships—Empirical Comparison between China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

The private sector has long been involved in delivering public sector projects, whether its role has been as a partner or just as a contractor for the government. Over recent years the interest in adopting public private partnerships (PPPs) has increased internationally. Many research studies have presented positive reasons for the governments and the private sector to welcome this form of procurement, rather than continue adopting the traditional options. This paper aims to explore and compare the key drivers for adopting PPP in China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (referred to as Hong Kong from here onwards). An empirical questionnaire survey was conducted in both of these administrative systems and survey respondents were invited to rate their perceptions on the importance of 15 different drivers identified. Eighty-seven completed survey questionnaires were returned for analysis. The findings indicated that respondents from China rated economy-related drivers higher, whereas Hong Kong ...

A comparative study of critical success factors for public private partnerships (PPP) between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) necessary for adopting public private partnerships (PPPs) in both Mainland China and Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical questionnaire survey was conducted with relevant experienced practitioners in Mainland China and Hong Kong.Findings – Both Mainland China and Hong Kong have been keen to deliver more infrastructure service projects through PPP mode, with the former aiming to meet its rapidly growing infrastructure demand and the latter uplifting its efficiency further. The results indicate that Hong Kong does not regard multi‐benefit objectives as importantly as Mainland China. Mainland China on the contrary felt more concerned with an equitable risk sharing mechanism, which is understandable given the problems affecting the financial market in Mainland China.Originality/value – It is anticipated that the results presented in this paper will assist both the public and private sectors to deliver PPP projects more su...

Repair of Partial-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears: A Biomechanical Analysis of Footprint Contact Pressure and Strength in an Ovine Model

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine whether transtendon repair by use of a novel small-diameter knotless anchor showed enhanced mechanical properties compared with tear completion and repair. METHODS Articular-sided partial-thickness tears were created ex vivo in the infraspinatus of 24 ovine shoulders. The specimens were randomized into 4 groups of 6 each: (1) no repair, (2) transtendon repair, (3) completion of tear with tension-band single-row repair, and (4) completion of tear with double-row repair. Footprint contact pressure and ultimate load to failure were measured in each specimen. RESULTS Technical failure of the transtendon anchors occurred in 3 of 15 shoulders. Transtendon repair (mean +/- SEM, 0.8 +/- 0.1 MPa) and double-row repair (1 +/- 0.09 MPa) showed 3-fold (P < .001) greater footprint contact pressures than tension-band single-row repair (0.3 +/- 0.03 MPa) and no repair (0.3 +/- 0.02 MPa). The ultimate load to failure for transtendon repair (544 +/- 22 N) was more than 3 times greater than that for the double-row repair (157 +/- 23 N) (P < .001) and the single-row repair (116 +/- 11 N) (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Transtendon repair of partial-thickness tears by use of specifically designed anchors biomechanically outperformed tear completion and repair in an ovine model. Transtendon repair showed the best combination of high footprint contact pressure and high ultimate failure load. However, the high insertion failure rate of these transtendon anchors is of concern. CLINICAL RELEVANCE On the basis of the biomechanical data, transtendon repair of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears may be used as an alternative to tear completion and repair, but the specific transtendon anchors used in this study need further evaluation before their clinical use can be recommended.

Improving building project performance: how buildability benchmarking can help

Although the buildability of building designs has not been commonly taken as an important parameter in design quality assessment, previous studies have linked buildability to time, cost, quality and safety performance in many ways. Based on this observation, the question arises of how buildability can be benchmarked and which aspects of project performance can be improved. After identifying available benchmarking tools, the relative correlations are investigated between different buildability attributes and construction performance in terms of time, cost, quality and safety. Based on a questionnaire survey, it was found that construction time performance has strong positive correlations with buildability in the design of external wall elements, simplicity of assembly and installation considerations, while other design attributes affect cost, quality and safety performance to varying degrees. With this understanding, it is postulated that best practice can be promoted among design teams for enhancing buildability, which would in turn raise project performance. Three experienced practitioners have been interviewed for verifying the practicality of buildability benchmarking. As an incentive to improve buildability, benchmarking would help construction stakeholders reap their desired benefits by focusing on the related design attributes in the pre‐construction stage, particularly for functionally oriented buildings.

A study of measures to improve constructability

Purpose – This paper is aimed at identifying the common approaches for improving constructability and evaluating their effectiveness of implementation.Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive survey has been carried out on contemporary literature, i.e. from 1990 onwards, to trace the development of the buildability and constructability concepts and the common approaches of improvement.Findings – Results show that buildability is mainly concerned with design, quality of built products, ease of construction, as well as efficient and economical construction. Constructability emphasises integration of construction knowledge and experience at various project stages; optimisation of different project requirements to achieve overall goals; and ease of construction. Therefore, “constructability” embraces the concept of “buildability”. The implementation of Quantified Assessment, Constructability Review and Constructability Programmes are the three commonly adopted approaches.Practical implications – Improvem...

Evaluating guaranteed maximum price and target cost contracting strategies in Hong Kong construction industry

Guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and target cost contracting (TCC) with a pain‐share/gain‐share arrangement have been adopted to integrate the construction delivery process and motivate service providers to seek continuous improvements in project outcomes. However, there is still a lack of research evidence to evaluate the levels of success and lessons learned from these innovative procurement strategies. Based on the analysis of a series of in‐depth interviews on the perceptions of various relevant experienced industrial practitioners, this paper aims to explore the key attributes of GMP/TCC including the underlying motives, perceived benefits, potential difficulties, critical success factors, key risk factors involved and optimal project conditions for adopting GMP/TCC. The research findings are useful in assisting key project stakeholders in minimising the detriments brought about by potential difficulties in and maximising the benefits derived from implementing GMP/TCC concepts. The study is also significant in contributing to new knowledge and practical information of GMP/TCC applications and implementation, in both a national and international context.