Sepani Senaratne

Managing construction project change: a knowledge management perspective

In the information age, organization theories have addressed problem‐solving as an information‐processing activity. However, in this era, with the realization of knowledge‐based views of the organization, shared problem‐solving is increasingly recognized as a knowledge creation trigger. During shared problem‐solving, stakeholders bring different types of knowledge into the problem situation and it is captured, created and shared by the team members. In construction projects, shared problem‐solving often takes place through pragmatic problem‐solving on site, in particular, through managing project changes. However, this significant role of knowledge in managing project change is not well appreciated in the extant literature. Accordingly, to explore how knowledge is created during project changes in construction a case study approach was adopted using two change events in two collaborative settings within the UK construction industry. The case study findings revealed that different forms of knowledge are created during the project change process within construction projects. However, this knowledge remains largely tacit and does not disseminate to the wider organization due to imbalanced codification and personalization strategies existing in such settings. A knowledge management perspective is introduced to manage project change so that construction project teams can successfully resolve and learn from change events.

Role of knowledge in managing construction project change

Purpose – Unplanned changes in construction projects are common and lead to disruptive effects such as project delays, cost overruns and quality deviations. Rework due to unplanned changes can cost 10‐15 per cent of contract value. By managing these changes more effectively, these disruptive effects can be minimised. Previous research has approached this problem from an information‐processing view. In this knowledge age, the purpose of this paper is to argue that effective change management can be brought about by better understanding the significant role of knowledge during change situations.Design/methodology/approach – Within this knowledge‐based context, the question of how construction project teams manage knowledge during unplanned change in the construction phase within collaborative team settings is investigated through a selected case study sample within the UK construction industry.Findings – Case study findings conclude that different forms of knowledge are created and shared between project te...

A Change Management Toolkit for Construction Projects

Abstract Changes in construction projects often cause cost and time overruns. Because of the nature of design and construction of buildings, construction professionals often have to make decisions based on assumptions and previous experience. Changes at a later stage are sometimes inevitable. The aim of project change management is not to seek the elimination of all project changes, but to minimize the negative impact of necessary changes and to avoid unnecessary ones. At present, in practice, there is a lack of industrial standards for project change management procedures and methods. This often results in changes being poorly managed, on an ad hoc basis, by project teams during individual projects. This paper presents a change management toolkit, which was developed to provide a standard framework and tool support for change management in construction projects.

Application of team role theory to construction design teams

Teams are the primary unit of working in the construction industry, and thus the performance of an industry can be improved when team performance is improved. Therefore, managers in the field should be well aware of good team-working practices for successful forming and managing of teams within construction industry and many authors in the field have pointed out this as a necessity. Team composition is a key factor in influencing team performance; when considering the team composition, it is relevant to take into account the different roles which the members play and the way they interact with one another. Team roles of the members can be used as a tool for the team to have effective execution of their work, effective management of their relationships with its environment and also to maintain the teams strength in meeting social needs of individuals who form the team. The design team being a major and most prominent sub-team will have an impact on project success; the applicability of team role concept in construction design teams will be beneficial to its clients, project managers, team members and, finally, for the project and construction industry as a whole. According to Belbins team role theory, when a team is more balanced in terms of the spread of naturally occurring team roles, it tends to be high performing. This study explored the existence of team roles and their effect to team performance in construction design teams. To explore this research problem, three case studies of in-house design teams which were involved in building construction projects with separated procurement arrangement were conducted in Sri Lanka. Team roles of the design team members were assessed using the Belbin Team Role Self Perception Inventory, while semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key design team members as well as team selectors. The findings revealed that individuals are assigned to design teams considering their functional roles rather than team roles. But, team members naturally adopted team roles in a way that it suits their functional role, project requirements and team setting under which they operate, in most of the situations. Team performance was affected by several complex factors. Hence, even though there seems to be an effect from team role balance to team performance, it could not be isolated and figured out. Despite this limitation, this study offers implications particularly to design team selectors such as clients and their project managers on application of team role theory in construction context.

Construction Project Teams and their Development: Case Studies in Sri Lanka

Abstract The construction industry can benefit from teamworking because construction products are delivered by a collection of diverse professionals. The importance of teams and their development in construction is an issue of international relevance—several influential government reports in the UK have highlighted this. However, effective teams cannot be created at a stroke—they need time and the opportunity to mature. This is usually referred to as team development and this area has been the subject of several research studies. However, there is a lack of research into the nature of construction teams and their development. This study explores how construction project teams go through a team development process. It was approached through case studies of three representative construction projects in Sri Lanka. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five distinct participants of each selected construction team during data collection. Based on the findings, a model of team development with regard to construction teams in Sri Lanka was developed. The new model indicates that construction teams develop in a linear sequence, as suggested in the literature. However, the study unearthed that within this basic linear sequence, several cycles can be created. It is hoped that these findings will be useful to general construction teams that operate under separated contract arrangements in other countries.

Research knowledge transfer into teaching in the built environment

Purpose – There is no automatic link between research and teaching in higher education institutions. Hence, in order to achieve a productive relationship, these two activities need to be linked through effective mechanisms. The research reported in this paper aims at identifying such strategies that are appropriate to a research‐based department, in the built environment discipline.Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies key issues related to this challenge through a literature review, and subsequently verifies those issues through an exploratory case study.Findings – The key finding from the study is that research‐based departments are poor at transferring their research knowledge into teaching especially at undergraduate level. Even though there are informal strategies in existence, there is a strong need for formalising them. The paper utilises knowledge transfer and learning literature to fully understand the process.Originality/value – Drawing from the findings, the study develops a framew...

Communication in construction: a management perspective through case studies in Sri Lanka

Effective communication process is essential for the success of construction projects. Previous research shows that construction project teams spend majority of their time communicating with other parties and stakeholders. However, only few previous studies address project-level communication process in construction, in particular, from a project management perspective. This research aimed to explore how construction project teams manage different stages of project communication process as identified in the project management bodies of knowledge, namely stakeholder identification, communication planning, information distribution, stakeholder management and performance reporting. The case study research method was used to investigate the research problem. Three construction projects in Sri Lanka were chosen for the study. Semi-structured interviews with top management who represented each key party (client, consultant and contractor) were undertaken within the selected cases. The findings revealed how project communication process was managed by the project team by use of various project management tools and techniques during the five key stages. This research offers useful implications for the construction industry, in particular, on how construction project teams should engage formally in managing communication process by use of appropriate project management tools and techniques. Further case studies will help us to confirm the research findings in a wider context.

Managing intragroup conflicts in construction project teams: case studies in Sri Lanka

Conflict is intrinsic to individuals, teams and organisations. Due to the unique and complex nature with various parties, conflict is inevitable in most construction projects. According to the general management literature, three distinct types of intragroup conflicts can be identified: task, process and relationship conflicts. However, very little consideration has been given in the literature addressing the three types individually in a construction project team setting. Therefore, this study has explored the existence of types of intragroup conflicts and their management in this context. This research was approached through case studies of six construction projects, which were operating under the traditional procurement method in Sri Lanka. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three distinct participants from each team. The findings revealed that both process and relationship conflicts offer disruptive effects to construction projects and teams, while task conflicts offer positive effects when they exist at low levels. Based on the most critical sources identified within the cases, suggestions are offered here to construction project team managers on how to manage intergroup conflicts proactively. Since the research is based on six case studies on traditional procurement arrangement in Sri Lanka, further research is required to generalise the findings across different contexts.

Linking individual, team and organizational learning in construction project team settings

Abstract Three levels or processes of learning are identified in project teams: individual learning, team learning and organizational learning. This article aims to explore the existing learning processes of construction project teams and identify factors that link these processes. This was approached through case studies of two construction project teams in Sri Lanka, operating under the traditional procurement method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five distinct participants from each case. Data were analysed using coding and cognitive mapping techniques. The research findings highlight the centrality of individual level among the three learning processes in a construction project team setting, in contrast to the centrality of team level that is established in general project-based organizations. The article further reveals key factors that effectively link the three learning processes. It is hoped that these findings will be useful to general construction teams that mainly operate under separated contract arrangements in many countries.

Evaluation of Application of Lean Principles to Precast Concrete Bridge Beam Production Process

AbstractAlthough prefabrication is becoming popular as an approach to conquer the chronic problems in construction, it has inherent issues related to inefficiencies in its production process. To address these production process related inefficiencies, lean production principles (LPP) can be applied. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the application of LPP to the precast concrete bridge beam production process (PCBBPP). The research collected data within three selected case studies by observing PCBBPP and interviewing executive-level professionals, to map the process, to identify conversion activities and their efficiency enhancing methods, and to record flow activities and their associate waste, waste causes, and elimination/minimization methods. The research analysed data by using code-based content analysis, and the findings are presented by using tables, matrices, and maps. The results revealed 103 activities associated with PCBBPP, of which 59 are conversion activities. Among 44 flow activities, 1...