Temitope Egbelakin

Enhancing seismic risk mitigation decisions: a motivational approach

Implementing seismic risk mitigation is a major challenge in many earthquake-prone regions, despite the availability of a significant number of risk reduction measures such as technical design solutions and regulatory frameworks that include building codes, policies and regulations necessary to facilitate successful risk reduction activities. However, building owners have been found unwilling to retrofit their earthquake-prone buildings. The objective of this research is to investigate how to enhance buildings owners’ earthquake hazard preparedness decisions by adopting a motivational approach in order to reduce their vulnerability to earthquake risks. A multiple case studies approach was adopted and interviews conducted with the various stakeholders involved in seismic adjustments decisions. Significant intrinsic and extrinsic interventions such as intensifying and promoting the use of critical awareness motivators, financial and property market-based incentives necessary to enhance building owners’ decisions were revealed from the analysis of the qualitative data. These revealed intrinsic and extrinsic interventions offer plausible explanations regarding how human motivational orientation can be used to influence disaster preparedness decisions by increasing the salience of seismic risk issues.

Improving regulatory frameworks for earthquake risk mitigation

New Zealands devastating Canterbury earthquakes provided an opportunity to examine the efficacy of existing regulations and policies relevant to seismic strengthening of vulnerable buildings. The mixed-methods approach adopted, comprising both qualitative and quantitative approaches, revealed that some of the provisions in these regulations pose as constraints to appropriate strengthening of earthquake-prone buildings. Those provisions include the current seismic design philosophy, lack of mandatory disclosure of seismic risks and ineffective timeframes for strengthening vulnerable buildings. Recommendations arising from these research findings and implications for pre-disaster mitigation for future earthquake and Canterburys post-disaster reconstruction suggest: (1) a reappraisal of the requirements for earthquake engineering design and construction, (2) a review and realignment of all regulatory frameworks relevant to earthquake risk mitigation, and (3) the need to develop a national programme necessary to achieve consistent mitigation efforts across the country. These recommendations are important in order to present a robust framework where New Zealand communities such as Christchurch can gradually recover after a major earthquake disaster, while planning for pre-disaster mitigation against future earthquakes.

Sociological and behavioural impediments to earthquake hazard mitigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavioural and sociological impediments to successful implementation of earthquake hazard mitigation and to recommend possible intervention strategies.Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered through a case study methodology and interviews adopted as the research strategy. A semi‐structured questionnaire was chosen as a data‐collection instrument, with 33 interviews conducted for various stakeholders involved in seismic retrofit decision‐making process.Findings – The research main findings include the role of risk perception in diminishing earthquake hazard mitigation, difficulties in assessing benefits and values of seismic retrofit implementation and the hazard mitigation approach adopted by governmental organisations. The findings suggested that stakeholders involved in retrofit decision‐making should have a good understanding of the risks faced as well as the implications of their decisions.Originality/value – The paper investigates earthq...

Economic impediments to successful seismic retrofitting decisions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine why building owners are often reluctant to adopt adequate mitigation measures despite the vulnerability of their buildings to earthquake disasters, by exploring the economic-related barriers to earthquake mitigation decisions. Design/methodology/approach – A case study research method was adopted and interviews chosen as the method of data collection. Findings – Critical economic-related impediments that inhibited seismic retrofitting of earthquake-prone buildings were revealed in this study. Economic-related barriers identified include perception about financial involvement in retrofitting, property market conditions, high insurance premiums and deductibles, and the high cost of retrofitting. The availability of financial incentives such as low interest loans, tax deductibles, the implementation of a risk-based insurance premium scale and promoting increased knowledge and awareness of seismic risks and mitigation measures in the property market place are ...

Stakeholders' practices: a challenge to earthquake risk mitigation decisions

Enhancing building owners’ earthquake risk preparedness has been a major challenge in many seismically active regions. Many property owners are found unwilling to adopt adequate risk mitigation measures in their earthquake-prone buildings, despite the availability of various technical design solutions and the enactment of intervening legislative frameworks necessary to facilitate successful earthquake risk preparedness. This paper examined the rationale behind building owners’ unwillingness to adopt adequate mitigation measures with a view to improve current stakeholders’ practices in earthquake risk mitigation. Using a mixed-method approach, comprising both qualitative and quantitative methods, an examination of the decision-making process and different stakeholders involved in earthquake risk mitigation and the property market, provided insights into the causal agents and stakeholder practices that pose challenges to property owners’ mitigation decisions. Stake-holder practices acting as impediments revealed are property valuation assessment of retrofitted and non-retrofitted EPBs, lack of demand for improved performance in older buildings, high earthquake insurance policy premiums and deductibles, and lack of a risk assessment information system. An in-depth understanding of these challenges highlights the need for a holistic approach that should incorporate market-based incentives necessary for successful earthquake preparedness by building owners, and for designing effective strategies for improving earthquake risk mitigation.

International and local NGO supply chain collaboration: An investigation of the Syrian refugee crises in Jordan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the key drivers and challenges to supply chain collaboration in the humanitarian sector; to appraise the relationships between international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and local non-governmental organizations (LNGOs) during disaster relief; and to explore the humanitarian context in regard to supply chain collaboration. Design/methodology/approach Literature from both the commercial and humanitarian sectors is discussed in the context of vertical partnerships. A Jordanian study spanning a network of 26 international and LNGOs is explored via semi-structured interviews. Findings The research provides valuable insights on the challenges facing LNGOs and INGOs when developing partnerships. Contextual factors, including host governmental policies and the social-economic setting of a disaster directly affect the motivations for supply chain collaboration between LNGOs and INGOs. Research limitations/implications The research is built on interviewees with 30 humanitarian professionals working in one country during an extended crisis. The majority of the empirical data are only from one actor’s perspective, thus further research into dyadic and network relationships is required. Approaches to addressing the diverse cultural and decision-making perspectives of LNGOs and INGOs warrant further investigation. Practical implications Recognizing the motives and challenges to vertical partnerships between LNGOs and INGOs will assist the managers, both at the strategic and operational levels, to find solutions and evolve strategies to build effective partnerships. Compromise and consideration for partner’s drivers and cultural views are essential for effective joint humanitarian relief initiatives. Originality/value This paper extends supply chain collaboration to a humanitarian context. Overcoming the challenges facing collaborative efforts and complementary nature of the drivers provide a means to achieve effective partnerships. Despite the uniqueness of the humanitarian context, such as the secondary nature of cost and dynamic demand, the core principles of collaboration still hold.

Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviours of construction project managers

Purpose Existing research has highlighted the need for influential leaders to respond to the evolving social, economic and environmental constraints on the construction industry. Studies on leadership in other sectors have shown that influential leaders tend to demonstrate a high level of emotional intelligence. Little or no research examining relationships between leadership style and emotional intelligence has been conducted specific to construction project managers. This study aims to identify the prevalent leadership style adopted by construction project managers and investigate potential correlations between leadership style and emotional intelligence. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire including a mix of open and closed questions was adopted to address the research objectives. The group studied comprised project managers currently working in the construction industry in New Zealand and the UK. Findings The research found that transformational leadership style is prevalent among project managers examined in this study. Significant positive relationships were found between project managers’ emotional intelligence and their likelihood of adopting a transformational leadership style. Originality/value The research results provide the construction industry with a benchmark against which individuals with high emotional intelligence, and so most suited to the challenges of the project management role, can be identified and trained. Recommendations including suitable methods for identifying, recruiting and training project managers, as well as secondment and mentoring options, were suggested for improving leadership capabilities in the construction industry.

Influence of key role players on productivity outcomes in the residential building lifecycle

Purpose This study aims to answer the ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions about the key role players’ influence on the overall productivity outcomes in the lifecycle of residential buildings procured through the traditional route. Design/methodology/approach A mix of exploratory and descriptive research methods was used to obtain feedback from 179 role-players involved in various phases of the residential building lifecycle (RBLC) in New Zealand. Empirical data were analysed using content analysis, multi-attribute method and Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance. Findings Results showed that designers, building owners, main contractors and project managers were the greatest influencers of the productivity outcomes in the RBLC. The priority drivers of these key role-players’ influences on the RBLC productivity outcomes comprised poor brief interpretation, inclination to lowest tender, inadequate prior risk analysis and miscommunication of owner’s requirements and preferences to service providers, respectively. By taking proactive steps to redress their productivity inhibiting acts/omissions as identified in this study, the various role-players could contribute to significant improvement of productivity outcomes in the building lifecycle. Research limitations/implications It was not possible to interview all participants that made up the representative random samples from each role-player group due largely to workload related excuses. As a result, the findings and the conclusions may not be generalised beyond the study scope. However, the study achieved its purpose, as the main intent was to provide hypothetical constructs that could guide further confirmatory/experimental studies for residential buildings as well as for other building types. Practical implications A succinct and easy-to-follow model was developed as implementation pathway for operationalising the key findings of the study in the industry. The model highlights the Owner-Architect-Contractor Influence Triangle (OACIT) as the 20 per cent of the solutions that could deliver 80 per cent of the productivity improvement in the RBLC. Originality/value This study re-examines productivity issues not only from a life-cycle perspective but also from the perspectives of the majority of the key role-players. In addition, the OACIT concept offers a novel productivity improvement tool; it stresses that productivity in the traditionally procured building lifecycle could be optimised if the architect could focus greater attention on brief articulation and the issuance and review of design and specification information. Also, the owner should adopt productivity-enhancing procurement and contract strategies and emphasise more on value-addition and less on lowest tender price.

Multidisciplinary Tool for Evaluating Strengthening Designs for Earthquake-Prone Buildings

In many seismically active countries, there is a high level of earthquake risk because of the presence of large stocks of earthquake-prone buildings. The typically high cost of earthquake retrofit and the difficulties associated with satisfying the interests of multiple stakeholders within a meaningful time frame potentially result in building demolition as the default seismic risk reduction solution. The Heritage Evaluation Framework (HEF) is a multidisciplinary decision-making tool to guide proposed seismic retrofit design by gathering inputs from all project stakeholders and to evaluate a particular seismic retrofit design against client expectations. The performance of the HEF is demonstrated for two retrofit projects using input data acquired via interviews, site walkthroughs, and regular meetings with project teams and clients. Results show that the HEF accommodates conceptual designs and provides useful feedback while encouraging early multidisciplinary collaboration.

Incentives and Motivators for Improving Building Resilience to Earthquake Disaster

AbstractEncouraging property owners to adopt measures to improve the resilience of their buildings to seismic hazard has been a major challenge in many earthquake-prone countries. Owners of buildin...