Per-Erik Josephson

The causes and costs of defects in construction: A study of seven building projects

Abstract To perform rational defect prevention, it is necessary to have knowledge about defects, their causes and associated costs. The purpose of the study presented here is to stimulate improvements by indicating where preventive measures are most effective as well as how to perform them. A study of defects in construction was performed during the period 1986–1990. A new and deeper study has been performed by the same research group during 1994–1996. Seven building projects have each been monitored during a 6 month-period. Observers spent 8 h a day at the site analysing and describing defects occurring. A total of 2879 defects have been collected and fully described, including their root causes. Formal interviews with 92 key persons have been made.

Learning capabilities in organizational networks: case studies of six construction projects

Organizational learning is a key mechanism for adapting to changes in the organizations environment, sharing know‐how and experiences, and for providing innovative solutions. Practices of organization learning are examined in six Swedish construction projects. In the Swedish construction industry, organization learning practices are in many cases underdeveloped and therefore mechanisms for sharing know‐how, information, and experiences remain an organizational capability not fully exploited. Findings suggest that construction projects are primarily relying on informal and personal contacts rather than more formal reporting and computer‐based management control systems. The implications for management in the industry are that new arenas wherein various professional groups can share knowledge and information would be beneficial for construction projects in terms of enabling for joint learning and a better use of the intellectual resources employed the project.

Revisiting site manager work: stuck in the middle?

The literature on middle managers tends to portray their role in rather negative terms. Middle managers are here stuck in between superiors and subordinates, with few opportunities for determining their work situation. In the construction industry, site managers play a role similar to that of the middle managers of large companies, located in between the firms strategic decisions and day‐to‐day production work on construction sites. The aim of this study is to examine how site managers experience their work situation. Drawing on an interview study encompassing 13 site managers and seven foremen and top managers in 13 construction projects, the research suggests that site managers are generally pleased with their work situation even though they are critical of the demands made of them to handle a variety of heterogeneous activities. However, a work situation fraught with unanticipated challenges and ambiguities easily leads to excessive workloads and long working hours. It is concluded that the literature on middle managers presents too negative an image of middle management and thus needs to revise the assumptions regarding the nature of middle managerial work. In addition, the study also underlines the needs of construction firms to regard their middle managers as a central function and resource.

Organization Learning in Non-writing Communities: The Case of Construction Workers

The literature on organization learning does not fully recognize the difference between learning that is primarily mediated by written documents and protocols and learning that occurs on the basis of verbal and symbolic interaction. This article presents a study of construction project workers and emphasizes that learning is emerging in work-life situations wherein individuals are sharing know-how and experiences through embodied interactions and the practical use of tools and machinery. Co-workers in construction projects thus make use of verbal and symbolic forms of communication in their processes of learning, rather than various forms of decoded and written forms and computer-mediated learning. The article suggests that the learning organization literature should pay more attention to communities of practice that rely on verbal interaction rather than written documentation.

Learning approaches for housing, service and infrastructure project organizations

Capturing and sharing experiences that may be applicable in several projects is generally recognized as a way of enhancing the performance of construction projects. Several studies have reported difficulties in applying learning approaches that could be applicable for a wide range of projects. The learning behaviour in three types of construction project: housing, service and infrastructure, is examined by the means of a questionnaire study including 51 construction projects and more than 800 responses from clients, designers, contractors’ managers, contractors’ workers and subcontractors. The effects of leadership, openness and influence are considered. Based on a factor analysis, three approaches to learning were identified: organizing for learning, experimenting and networking. While housing project organizations do not demonstrate any specific preferences, service project organizations show a focus on networking and infrastructure project organizations show the highest interest in experimenting. On the basis of these results it can be concluded that learning approaches are dependent on the type of project. Thus adopting different learning approaches for different types of construction project seems to be a more relevant strategy than implementing a ‘one size fits all’ learning approach for all construction project organizations.

Broadband services for residential and commercial tenants : a categorisation of current and future services and a survey on tenants needs in Sweden

Abstract The world is going through a rapid development of Internet and network-related technologies. The Swedish governments vision is, for example, that all private persons, firms and organisations have broadband in the speed of five megabit per second before 2005. Such developments mean that the market for the construction industry will expand. Most large and medium size contractors in Sweden work with drawing cables for broadband. Most companies in real estate offer or plan to offer broadband services to their tenants. The trend is that the technologies and the suppliers drive the development of broadband, not customers and the customers’ needs. In this paper a global scanning of current and future services, delivered by broadband, which can be used in computer networks of the type local community system (LCS) developed by NCC and Ericsson is presented. Twenty-eight types of services are identified and are categorised in five major groups; information services, communication services, entertainment services, e-commerce services and telemetry services. In collaboration with NCC customers’ needs on broadband services were investigated in a case study, Sundby Park. A questionnaire based on the types of services identified was sent to 144 residential tenants and 42 commercial tenants in the area. The study indicates that residential tenants are most interested in information services while commercial tenants are most interested in communication services. In total, the interest for broadband services is lower than expected. The reason could either be that the industries overestimate the tenants needs for broadband services or that the respondents do not have enough knowledge yet to fully understand the services.

Coaching the site manager: effects on learning and managerial practice

Coaching has emerged as a potentially powerful leadership development approach, capable of effectively blending theoretical knowledge and practical skills in onsite training. To date, little research on the use of coaching in the construction industry has been published and the coaching literature is primarily written by coaches with vested interests. In addition, there are a limited number of critical and empirical evaluations of the approach. A year‐long action research coaching project in the Swedish construction industry shows that site managers participating in the coaching programme developed skills for reflecting on their work life situation, improved their communication, and became better equipped for seeing a broader range of perspectives in their work. In addition, the coaching programme opened up new discussions in the construction projects, which benefited further communication. The overall reception of the coaching programme was enthusiastic. While coaching does not come without costs and efforts, it may serve as a leadership development approach capable of helping site managers develop their leadership skills, cope with work–family conflicts, and improve their communication.

Why do work sampling studies in construction? The case of plumbing work in Scandiavia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify reasons for doing work sampling studies in processes performed by temporary organisations. Specific questions consider if the technique can be used for measuring productivity and if it can be used to compare performances over time. Design/methodology/approach – A work sampling study of plumbing work in eight construction projects is compared with a similar study performed 20 years earlier. Interviews are made in order to find out how the work conditions have developed over time. Findings – Work sampling studies are of little value for measuring productivity as well as for comparing performances over time. One reason is that the conditions vary to a high extent from one situation to another. Another reason is that working conditions undergo significant development over time. On the other hand, the authors experience that data from work sampling studies are of high relevance for discussions on improvement opportunities among workers as well as among corpora...

Aggregation of factors causing cost overruns and time delays in large public construction projects: Trends and implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that cost overruns and time delays exert on large public construction projects to clarify how past and current research regard factors causing cost overruns and time delays in large public construction projects. Design/methodology/approach This paper, which is based on an analysis of a literature selection consisting of 40 journal articles, investigates and ranks the occurrence of and the explanations for cost overruns and time delays in large public construction projects. The study makes use of a kiviat diagram/radar chart in order to visualize multivariate data. Findings Aggregated rankings of important causes of cost overruns and time delays are reported. These show a strong emphasis on the management aspect as a primary cause of cost overruns and delays. Additionally, there seems to be a trend toward deemphasizing the role of financial considerations in explaining cost overruns and delays. It is argued that there needs to be a more rigorous assessment of the impact that each factor has on cost increases and delays based on factual observed data as opposed to retrospective accounts from questionnaire respondents. Research limitations/implications Only public construction projects have been considered. The results will not be directly applicable to privately funded construction projects and/or projects of a smaller size. Originality/value The use of trend data, as illustrated in a kiviat diagram, showing how different ranking factors causing cost overruns and time delays has changed in importance over time.

Implications of Cost Overruns and Time Delays on Major Public Construction Projects

For decades, the construction industry has been characterized by costs exceeding budgetary limits and completion times reaching further than what was set out initially. This has been particularly noticeable for large public construction projects where cost overruns and time delays have long been regarded a common occurrence. Due to the magnitude and frequency of these overruns, they have come to pose a significant financial risk to both clients and contractors, in addition to the impact exerted on the sustainability of the project. In dealing with this, researchers, auditors and practitioners have suggested a broad range of solutions, ranging from technical and economical to psychological and political approaches. In doing so, the contractor’s role has been emphasized whereas the role of the client organization has often been overlooked. This paper which is based on a literature review investigates the occurrence of and the explanations for cost overruns and time delays in major construction projects from the public client’s perspective. It also explores the implications of cost overruns and time delays; the purpose of which is to offer an extended understanding of the relationship between the client’s actions and effects on cost, time and sustainability parameters.