Tarek M. Hassan

Building a conceptual framework for measuring business performance in construction: an empirical evaluation

The importance of business performance measurement across industries has elevated in the last decade in what has been described as a revolution. Meanwhile, the construction industry has been criticised for its underperformance and the Latham and Egan reports emphasized the need for performance improvement and measurement. Companies have had to face the dilemma of choosing among different performance measurement frameworks. Hence, a need has been identified for a comprehensive framework. The aim of this research is to fulfil this need by building a conceptual framework for measuring the business performance of construction organizations. The framework had been formulated in previous research upon the principles of the Balanced Scorecard and Business Excellence Models. The research attempts to empirically evaluate and revise the framework through a series of expert interviews and case studies. In addition, empirical feedback has been used to: express the revised framework in a more communicative form, illustrate how business performance can be measured; and highlight the differences between the proposed framework and contemporary performance frameworks.

Modelling information flow during the conceptual and schematic stages of building design

This paper reports on recent research the aim of which was to study, model and simulate the information flow at the conceptual and schematic stages of building design. The development of a generic model of the conceptual and schematic design process for buildings is described. This model comprising design tasks and their information requirements was produced using data flow diagrams. Examples from several levels of the model are provided. Details are then given as to how the model may be used to assist the management of the design process both directly and by providing primary data for other tools and techniques. Industry feedback on the data modelling and these tools and techniques is then discussed. It is concluded that it is only by a better understanding of the flow of information among project participants that the management of design may be improved, and that although the generic data flow model provides immediate benefits to design managers these can be enhanced greatly by the use of the model as a primary data source for other tools and techniques including the design structure matrix and simulation.

Analysis of factors that drive brief development in construction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors that drive changes to the construction project brief and the background to those factors. The founding argument, that incorporating these changes is paramount for achieving client satisfaction, introduces the concept of dynamic brief development (DBP), which permits changes throughout the project life cycle. The understanding and attitude of the major construction project stakeholders towards DBP are investigated along with identifying the originators of brief development and the value and risk sources.Design/methodology/approach – A threefold method was used comprising a comprehensive questionnaire survey followed by structured interviews. The results of these were further investigated though a brainstorming session with major construction project stakeholders. A total population of 266,434 units for the survey was identified, reduced to a random stratified sample of 530. The response rate was 49.2 per cent and the responses were analysed usin...

Planning building design by simulating information flow

Successful project management requires the effective control of the design teams and the exchange of information between them for successful design management. This paper describes a methodology involving discrete event simulation that can help the planning and control of building design. Discipline-based information flow models of the building design process are used to define the activities of the simulation model, concentrating on the concept and schematic design stages. Factors such as task durations and resources are then allocated along with any specific constraints that are to be evaluated. The model predicts the outcomes of the specific scenario of information related events, including design schedules and resource histograms. The paper describes the development and validation of the simulation model and discusses its potential application during the planning and design phases of building projects. It is concluded that this approach could form the basis of a useful tool for design managers responsible for multidisciplinary building design work.

Note: Exploring gender differences in construction research: a European perspective

Research suggests that women in academia face problematic career paths as a result of masculine cultures and horizontal segregation. At the same time, research in the construction sector has documented the barriers women face in entering and remaining in construction careers. Construction academia is investigating in this exploratory study to determine whether gender disparities found in academic research generally are valid in this field. As there is a lack of data on women in academia, particularly by sub‐disciplines, scientific publication is used to explore gender differences and similarities. Publication is a significant area where gender disparities have been found in other fields and an area that can have substantial consequences for career progression in academia. The data are from a wider European study exploring women’s participation in construction research and are based on secondary analysis of statistics from the ISI Web of Knowledge. Gender differences in publication are found to exist, suggesting that women are under‐represented in construction research at a similar rate to women in engineering and technology academia. However, there are important differences between the different areas of construction research, which indicate that women may not face the same barriers and difficulties in all areas of construction academia. It also highlights the need for further research to investigate horizontal segregation and the gendered nature of publication, citation and collaboration in construction research.

Improving RCPSP solutions quality with Stacking Justification – Application with particle swarm optimization

Justification is a simple technique which was presented for improving the quality of schedules generated with algorithms for solving RCPSPs. Few researches implemented justification with meta-heuristics and proved that algorithms optimization results using justification outperforms the performance of the same algorithms without justification. In this paper, Stacking Justification is presented for further improvement of generated schedules quality. For testing the performance of this new justification technique, the multiple justification particle swarm optimization (MJPSO) algorithm was developed. Test results show that implementing Stacking Justification in a multiple justification approach was having a significant effect on solutions quality, and the performance results were very effective when compared to best performing algorithms in literature. Additionally, combined priority rules (CPR), a suggested approach for proper spread of swarm particles over several good quality areas within search space during swarm initialization, showed a considerable improvement on results especially for small number of generated schedules which is more suitable for practical applications.

‘They're not girly girls’: an exploration of quantitative and qualitative data on engineering and gender in higher education

Despite sustained efforts to promote engineering careers to young women, it remains the most male-dominated academic discipline in Europe. This paper will provide an overview of UK data and research on women in engineering higher education, within the context of Europe. Comparisons between data from European countries representing various regions of Europe will highlight key differences and similarities between these nations in terms of women in engineering. Also, drawing on qualitative research the paper will explore UK students’ experiences of gender, with a particular focus on the decision to study engineering and their experiences in higher education.

Potential use of real‐time data capture and job‐tracking technology in the field

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss the scope for improving the delivery of FM services through the use of wireless web‐based communications infrastructure, delivered via an application service provider (ASP) business model. This paper discusses the findings from case studies of three organisations and their approach to the management of facilities.Design/methodology/approach – An investigation was undertaken to ascertain the current state of play in terms of managing and tracking processes within the facilities management department of three different organisations. These case studies were chosen from distinct sectors, namely health care, higher education, and banking. Emphasis is placed on analysing how the organisations currently operate with their existing FM systems and the degree of influence technology has on existing processes. This was considered mainly in terms of computer‐aided facilities management (CAFM) and computer‐integrated facilities management (CIFM).Findings – The study fo...

Legal and Contractual Framework for the VO

This chapter describes the legal and contractual considerations for organisations wishing to use ICT in their virtual organisation. The chapter describes a number of legal and contractual conditions, (mainly contracts), that must be met to enable legal and contractually valid transactions amongst the VO participants. These contracts and how to achieve them using software tools is described. These tools enable organisations to send electronic transactions in a secure and legally valid manner using technology that is readily available and easy to use. How this can be achieved is described. Bringing all this information together the chapter concludes with a small case study where a description of how these tools have been used in the VO environment is given.

Collaborative project planning: A case study of seismic risk analysis using an e-engineering hub

Volatile partnerships are becoming popular and important in the global economy with the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the development of e-business and e-engineering. This requires a new generation of collaborative project planning tools to be built. The e-HUBs (e-engineering enabled by Holonomic and Universal Broker Services) project has conceived and developed a novel approach to e-engineering services. Focusing on project preparation and planning, the e-engineering hub facilitates the outsourcing of engineering services and the fast creation of a project plan that can be executed by engineering teams. This paper presents the e-Hub approach to collaborative project planning and illustrates the key concepts and benefits of this approach through a case study produced as a result of the project. The evaluation results are also discussed.