Sui Pheng Low

A fuzzy quality function deployment system for buildable design decision-makings

During the conceptual stage of a building design, major design decisions that have the greatest influence on buildability of a project are taken. Quality function deployment (QFD) is an integrated decision-making methodology that can assure and improve the alignment of elements of design and construction processes with the requirements of customers. On the basis of the enlarged customer concept, QFD has the potential to be developed as a quantitative approach for buildability evaluation. This paper presents the findings of a research effort to adapt House of Quality (HOQ) to meet the needs of buildable designs in the construction industry and to develop a fuzzy QFD system for buildability evaluation. In this system, the fuzzy set theory is integrated into HOQ to capture the inherent impreciseness and vagueness of design-relevant inputs and facilitate the analysis of design-relevant QFD information. An example is presented to illustrate the system, which provides a viable decision-making method for quantitative buildability evaluation at the early design phase.

Critical success factors for enterprise risk management in Chinese construction companies

Construction businesses are risky ventures and enterprise risk management (ERM) has been advocated in construction companies. To ensure ERM success and the subsequent benefits, it is necessary to understand the key activities of ERM. The objectives are to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for ERM and analyse the interrelationships among these CSFs in Chinese construction companies (CCCs). To achieve this objective, 16 CSFs were identified through a comprehensive literature review and 89 completed survey questionnaires were received. The results of the analysis show that the three most important CSFs are ‘commitment of the board and senior management’, ‘risk identification, analysis and response’ and ‘objective setting’. Additionally, the three underlying CSF groupings are (1) execution and integration; (2) communication and understanding; and (3) commitment and involvement of top management. The commitment and involvement of top management positively contributed to the communication and understanding as well as the execution and integration of ERM, while the communication and understanding facilitated the execution and integration of ERM. The proposed framework indicating the key ERM practices and the inter-grouping relationships provides an in-depth understanding of ERM in CCCs, compared with the existing not so relevant ERM frameworks in various other industries.

Developing Fuzzy Enterprise Risk Management Maturity Model for Construction Firms

AbstractConstruction firms have been seen as prime candidates for enterprise risk management (ERM) adoption. The ERM maturity assessment helps them to identify weak areas of their ERM implementation and to prioritize resources to improve these areas. The objectives of this paper are to identify the ERM best practices and important ERM maturity criteria in Chinese construction firms (CCFs) and to develop an ERM maturity model for CCFs. Through an in-depth literature review and a questionnaire survey conducted with 89 professionals, a total of 66 applicable ERM best practices and 16 important maturity criteria were identified and thus used in the proposed model. The results indicated that commitment of the board and senior management; risk identification, analysis, and response; and objective setting were the top three most important criteria. In addition, this model adopts the fuzzy set theory to quantify the implementation levels of the best practices. Moreover, this model was applied in a CCF based in Si...

Evaluation and Selection of Consultants for Design-Build Projects

The objective of this paper is to construct a model to assist contractors to select design consultants for design-build (DB) projects. A major survey of DB contractors was conducted to gauge the importance of the 40 attributes identified, through mailed standard questionnaire. The principal finding is that 34 of the 40 attributes identified are important for consultant selection and these were used to construct the Consultant Selection Model. The model was tested by six experts, and found to be robust. The conclusion of this study is that consultants who are selected to undertake DB projects need to excel in task performance and contextual performance. Their fees must be competitive and they must have good relationships with the contractor.

Business continuity management in large construction companies in Singapore

Purpose – The aim of this study is to determine whether large construction companies practise business continuity management (BCM), the type of crises which companies deem impactful for their organizations and their reactions to certain crises.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 22 large construction companies in Singapore was conducted.Findings – The survey suggests that, although the importance and usefulness of having BCM are clear, the receptiveness of BCM among large construction firms is far from ideal. In todays unpredictable environment, there is a tendency for catastrophes to occur unexpectedly and to bring about undesired consequences. A large majority of the respondents did not have any form of BCM practices within their organization. This is mainly because they were unaware of what constitutes a business continuity plan.Research limitations/implications – The survey was conducted only among large construction companies; as such, the results obtained cannot be used to represent the entir...

Understanding Enterprise Risk Management Maturity in Construction Firms

Enterprise risk management (ERM) has been practiced in a wide variety of industries, and construction firms have been seen as prime candidates for ERM adoption. The objectives of this study are to develop a computerized knowledge-based decision support system (KBDSS) for ERM and to investigate the ERM maturity in Chinese construction firms (CCFs) based in Singapore. The KBDSS allows users to assess the ERM maturity of their organizations using a fuzzy model and performs the perceptibly complicated mathematical calculations. By conducting a questionnaire survey with 35 Singapore-based CCFs and inputting the relevant data into the KBDSS, the ERM maturity of these firms was assessed. The results suggested that these CCFs had a low level of ERM maturity and that the weakest criterion was the application of a risk management information system. The results also indicated positive association between ERM maturity and firm size, and significant agreement on the ranking of the maturity criteria among all the survey CCFs. The ERM maturity of Singapore-based CCFs can serve as a benchmark, with which the other firms can compare, and the methodology adopted is applicable to other construction firms, thus contributing to the body of knowledge relating to ERM.

Empiricist Framework for TQM Implementation in Construction Companies

As a management philosophy, total quality management (TQM) is implemented differently in firms. This study investigates the implementation level and the types of TQM practices adopted in construction companies. Eight elements had been identified from both organizational-/management- and construction-related studies to represent the TQM spirit. These elements are top management leadership, customer management, people management, supplier management, quality information management, process management, organizational learning, and continual improvement. A questionnaire survey was conducted to solicit the implementation level of the identified TQM elements. The survey findings indicate that customer, process management, and top management leadership were implemented at a higher level than the remaining elements with quality information management implemented at the lowest level. Important practices that constitute each element were also identified. Based on the findings, we propose a TQM implementation framework for construction companies.

Developing an organizational learning‐based model for risk management in Chinese construction firms

Purpose – The features of construction projects, characterized by their transient nature, multi‐players, and strong dependency on local natural and human environment, highlight the difficulties of risk management in construction firms. This is particularly crucial when a construction firm ventures overseas where the risk exposure is high. However, it is unclear how Chinese construction firms would behave organizationally or if they have adopted appropriate risk management best practices, especially when they operate outside of Mainland China. Moreover, it is also unclear if such firms have formally documented risk management lessons for the purpose of organizational learning to share both success and failure so that similar mistakes can be avoided in the future. This paper primarily aims to establish a conceptual framework linking organizational learning with risk management, focusing on the organizational behavior of Chinese construction firms when they operate in both Mainland China and overseas.Design/...

Managing crisis response communication in construction projects – from a complexity perspective

Purpose – The number of crisis incidents and their severity is rising along with the growing complexity of technology and society. There are enumerable incidents that can interrupt progress in construction projects. The crisis response phase puts the project organizations established normal communication systems and processes under enormous and additional pressure. The aim of this paper is to make a contribution to link and extend the knowledge of complexity theory on communication management in the context of the crisis response. This paper aims to propose and refine a conceptual framework for understanding the underlying pattern of communication behavior and decisions of human systems in response to a crisis and to investigate how to enhance the organizations adaptability and resilience in the event of a crisis.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews, proposes and refines a conceptual complexity‐informed framework for effective crisis response communication management.Findings – Conventional c...

Enterprise risk management in international construction firms: drivers and hindrances

Purpose – The specific purposes of this paper are: to identify the critical drivers for and hindrances to enterprise risk management (ERM) implementation; and to compare the influence of these factors on ERM implementation between large and small-medium (SM) Chinese construction firms (CCFs) in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted and responses were received from 35 experienced managers in CCFs operating in Singapore. Findings – A total of 13 drivers and 22 hindrances were found critical to ERM implementation in Singapore-based CCFs. “Improved decision making” were the top influential driver, while “insufficient resources (e.g. time, money, people, etc.)” were the most significant hindrances. Additionally, despite significant differences in the mean scores of seven drivers and four hindrances, the large and SM CCFs agreed on the rankings of drivers and hindrances, respectively. Research limitations/implications – As the survey was performed with the Singapore-based...