Housing debates generally focus on new buildings, and there is scarce research on upgrading of ex... more Housing debates generally focus on new buildings, and there is scarce research on upgrading of existing housing. Upgrading can have positive social, health and financial outcomes for low-income populations. Upgrading the existing stock of social housing (SH) offers an opportunity to ease the effects of inadequate housing through improvements, reduce social costs, alleviate housing deficits and promote sustainability. Targeted upgrading efforts need impact sensitive processes, which involve stakeholders. These are primarily end-users, but also housing and construction companies, design professionals, etc who have specific, at times, conflicting needs and interests. Shifting from individual to more collective engagements, through innovative mediation, should bridge boundaries between stakeholders. This research premise is that by applying and refining Living Labs (LLs) in the SH context, user-valued innovations can be identified. Boundary Objects (BOs) with advanced communication tool...
Construction management suffers from many problems which need to be solved or better understood. ... more Construction management suffers from many problems which need to be solved or better understood. The research described in this paper evaluates the effectiveness of implementing the Last Planner System (LPS) to improve construction planning practice and enhance site management in the Saudi construction industry. To do so, LPS was implemented in two large state-owned construction projects through an action research process. The data collection methods employed included interviews, observations and a survey questionnaire. The findings identify major benefits covering many aspects of project management, including improved construction planning, enhanced site management and better communication and coordination between the parties involved. The fact that the structural work in one of the projects studied was completed two weeks ahead of schedule provides evidence of improvement of the specific site construction planning practices. The paper also describes barriers to the realisation the...
Process transparency is the core concept in Visual Management (VM), which is one of the founding ... more Process transparency is the core concept in Visual Management (VM), which is one of the founding blocks of the Toyota Production System. This paper presents the preliminary results of a collaborative research conducted between Brazil and the UK, as part of a research effort focused on the application of Visual Management in construction. How process transparency is realized on construction sites is the main research question of the paper. The use of this concept and the implementation of the transparency theory were investigated through multiple case studies, carried out in nine different construction companies. The findings are explained through six theoretical transparency increasing approaches. The affecting parameters in the application of, the management’s perception of and several methods in process transparency in construction were identified. Further work, especially exploring the functions of process transparency on construction sites and reflecting the worker perception of...
The paper aims to investigate the implementation issues and benefits of utilising the Last Planne... more The paper aims to investigate the implementation issues and benefits of utilising the Last Planner and 4D modelling in the context of retrofit of social housing. It presents initial results of an on-going research project carried out in Northern Ireland, which focuses on the retrofit of solid wall homes. The research project involves the proposal of a process in which BIM is used to evaluate what-if scenarios for the retrofit of social housing with a focus on reducing user’s disruption throughout the construction process. Both 4D and the Last Planner are used to ensure the retrofit works with the minimum disruption. A case study on the retrofit of a set of houses was carried out, which is part of a bigger research project entitled S-IMPLER. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews, participant observation in planning meetings, site visits and documental analysis. The study sheds light on a particular type of project that has not been well explored by the lean community, i.e...
Since Aristotle, it has repeatedly been stressed that for engaging in meaningful discussion or de... more Since Aristotle, it has repeatedly been stressed that for engaging in meaningful discussion or debate, the discussion parties must share, besides a language, also knowledge, information, values and goals. What do we know today about this issue? How can that knowledge be used and advanced? The purpose of this paper is to consolidate our understanding on the many concepts that refer to preconditions for communication and collaboration in construction projects. The underlying research is conceptual by nature, and it is underpinned by a literature review. The findings show that currently there is a wide variety of terms and theoretical approaches that refer to the discussed phenomena. This situation invites for a conceptual synthesis and empirical research for its validation.
Resumo Uma das possíveis estratégias para melhorar a qualidade dos empreendimentos de construção ... more Resumo Uma das possíveis estratégias para melhorar a qualidade dos empreendimentos de construção é o uso de Building Information Modelling1 (BIM), que envolve inovações relacionadas à tecnologia da informação e mudanças em processos críticos. Na habitação de interesse social no Brasil, um dos desafios enfrentados é a necessidade de avaliar em um prazo relativamente curto um grande número de projetos submetidos para financiamento, principalmente após a criação do programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida. A verificação automatizada de projetos tem sido apontada na literatura como uma das principais oportunidades para o uso de BIM. A avaliação de projetos por órgãos governamentais é com frequência baseada principalmente na experiência dos técnicos responsáveis, e pode haver falta de uniformidade nos critérios adotados, além de ser um processo demorado e custoso. O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em propor um método automatizado de verificação de requisitos para projetos de empreendimentos de h...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, 2016
There is a large stock of solid-wall homes in the UK with poor thermal insulation and low energy ... more There is a large stock of solid-wall homes in the UK with poor thermal insulation and low energy performance. Although the UK government has supported efforts to improve these buildings, the identification of appropriate technical solutions that effectively improve the existing stock remains challenging. This research investigates how four dimensional building information modelling (4D BIM) could improve the retrofit of social housing, specifically that of ‘no-fines’ solid-wall homes, through the development of what-if scenarios that enable the analysis of alternative solutions considering costs, energy performance and disruption to users. This paper focuses on the use of 4D building information models to evaluate disruption to end users. The results indicate that the development of such models supports a better understanding of the retrofit process on site. It also supports the definition of production plans with as minimal disruption as possible to users while delivering energy-or...
There is scarce literature discussing errors as a source of waste in design. Also, there is poor ... more There is scarce literature discussing errors as a source of waste in design. Also, there is poor understanding on what constitutes waste in the context of design development. This paper aim is to identify the main perceived causes of errors and waste in the design phase of residential buildings. The paper reports on part of an on-going PhD research, which aims to develop a framework to support designers to identify sources of errors and reduce waste through different design phases. In order to obtain an initial understanding of the designers' perception of waste and gauge their knowledge of design errors, interviews were conducted in Jordan, with senior design engineers from the private sector, lead design engineers from the Jordan Engineers Association, and the assistant to the manager of Public Works. Results demonstrate perceptions that the main causes of errors and waste are related to (a) client changes; (b) design drawing and detail issues; and (c) problems with following ...
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 2010
Currently in the United Kingdom there is a trend to broaden the scope of service provision in the... more Currently in the United Kingdom there is a trend to broaden the scope of service provision in the healthcare sector. Not only are new healthcare-related services being provided to the community, but also there is increasing concern for providing services to extend the life cycle of built facilities. This trend is similar to what has been observed in manufacturing, where different approaches are used to combine products and services, generating high-value integrated solutions. This article analyzes integrated-solution approaches that have been adopted in the manufacturing sector and compares them to trends that are emerging in the healthcare sector. The practical implications of these trends in the UK healthcare sector are also pointed out. This study discusses how to improve value generation by combining products and services; it also addresses the need for a value-creating system that is capable of developing and sustaining new healthcare infrastructures. Some of the major changes ...
Housing debates generally focus on new buildings, and there is scarce research on upgrading of ex... more Housing debates generally focus on new buildings, and there is scarce research on upgrading of existing housing. Upgrading can have positive social, health and financial outcomes for low-income populations. Upgrading the existing stock of social housing (SH) offers an opportunity to ease the effects of inadequate housing through improvements, reduce social costs, alleviate housing deficits and promote sustainability. Targeted upgrading efforts need impact sensitive processes, which involve stakeholders. These are primarily end-users, but also housing and construction companies, design professionals, etc who have specific, at times, conflicting needs and interests. Shifting from individual to more collective engagements, through innovative mediation, should bridge boundaries between stakeholders. This research premise is that by applying and refining Living Labs (LLs) in the SH context, user-valued innovations can be identified. Boundary Objects (BOs) with advanced communication tool...
Construction management suffers from many problems which need to be solved or better understood. ... more Construction management suffers from many problems which need to be solved or better understood. The research described in this paper evaluates the effectiveness of implementing the Last Planner System (LPS) to improve construction planning practice and enhance site management in the Saudi construction industry. To do so, LPS was implemented in two large state-owned construction projects through an action research process. The data collection methods employed included interviews, observations and a survey questionnaire. The findings identify major benefits covering many aspects of project management, including improved construction planning, enhanced site management and better communication and coordination between the parties involved. The fact that the structural work in one of the projects studied was completed two weeks ahead of schedule provides evidence of improvement of the specific site construction planning practices. The paper also describes barriers to the realisation the...
Process transparency is the core concept in Visual Management (VM), which is one of the founding ... more Process transparency is the core concept in Visual Management (VM), which is one of the founding blocks of the Toyota Production System. This paper presents the preliminary results of a collaborative research conducted between Brazil and the UK, as part of a research effort focused on the application of Visual Management in construction. How process transparency is realized on construction sites is the main research question of the paper. The use of this concept and the implementation of the transparency theory were investigated through multiple case studies, carried out in nine different construction companies. The findings are explained through six theoretical transparency increasing approaches. The affecting parameters in the application of, the management’s perception of and several methods in process transparency in construction were identified. Further work, especially exploring the functions of process transparency on construction sites and reflecting the worker perception of...
The paper aims to investigate the implementation issues and benefits of utilising the Last Planne... more The paper aims to investigate the implementation issues and benefits of utilising the Last Planner and 4D modelling in the context of retrofit of social housing. It presents initial results of an on-going research project carried out in Northern Ireland, which focuses on the retrofit of solid wall homes. The research project involves the proposal of a process in which BIM is used to evaluate what-if scenarios for the retrofit of social housing with a focus on reducing user’s disruption throughout the construction process. Both 4D and the Last Planner are used to ensure the retrofit works with the minimum disruption. A case study on the retrofit of a set of houses was carried out, which is part of a bigger research project entitled S-IMPLER. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews, participant observation in planning meetings, site visits and documental analysis. The study sheds light on a particular type of project that has not been well explored by the lean community, i.e...
Since Aristotle, it has repeatedly been stressed that for engaging in meaningful discussion or de... more Since Aristotle, it has repeatedly been stressed that for engaging in meaningful discussion or debate, the discussion parties must share, besides a language, also knowledge, information, values and goals. What do we know today about this issue? How can that knowledge be used and advanced? The purpose of this paper is to consolidate our understanding on the many concepts that refer to preconditions for communication and collaboration in construction projects. The underlying research is conceptual by nature, and it is underpinned by a literature review. The findings show that currently there is a wide variety of terms and theoretical approaches that refer to the discussed phenomena. This situation invites for a conceptual synthesis and empirical research for its validation.
Resumo Uma das possíveis estratégias para melhorar a qualidade dos empreendimentos de construção ... more Resumo Uma das possíveis estratégias para melhorar a qualidade dos empreendimentos de construção é o uso de Building Information Modelling1 (BIM), que envolve inovações relacionadas à tecnologia da informação e mudanças em processos críticos. Na habitação de interesse social no Brasil, um dos desafios enfrentados é a necessidade de avaliar em um prazo relativamente curto um grande número de projetos submetidos para financiamento, principalmente após a criação do programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida. A verificação automatizada de projetos tem sido apontada na literatura como uma das principais oportunidades para o uso de BIM. A avaliação de projetos por órgãos governamentais é com frequência baseada principalmente na experiência dos técnicos responsáveis, e pode haver falta de uniformidade nos critérios adotados, além de ser um processo demorado e custoso. O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em propor um método automatizado de verificação de requisitos para projetos de empreendimentos de h...
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, 2016
There is a large stock of solid-wall homes in the UK with poor thermal insulation and low energy ... more There is a large stock of solid-wall homes in the UK with poor thermal insulation and low energy performance. Although the UK government has supported efforts to improve these buildings, the identification of appropriate technical solutions that effectively improve the existing stock remains challenging. This research investigates how four dimensional building information modelling (4D BIM) could improve the retrofit of social housing, specifically that of ‘no-fines’ solid-wall homes, through the development of what-if scenarios that enable the analysis of alternative solutions considering costs, energy performance and disruption to users. This paper focuses on the use of 4D building information models to evaluate disruption to end users. The results indicate that the development of such models supports a better understanding of the retrofit process on site. It also supports the definition of production plans with as minimal disruption as possible to users while delivering energy-or...
There is scarce literature discussing errors as a source of waste in design. Also, there is poor ... more There is scarce literature discussing errors as a source of waste in design. Also, there is poor understanding on what constitutes waste in the context of design development. This paper aim is to identify the main perceived causes of errors and waste in the design phase of residential buildings. The paper reports on part of an on-going PhD research, which aims to develop a framework to support designers to identify sources of errors and reduce waste through different design phases. In order to obtain an initial understanding of the designers' perception of waste and gauge their knowledge of design errors, interviews were conducted in Jordan, with senior design engineers from the private sector, lead design engineers from the Jordan Engineers Association, and the assistant to the manager of Public Works. Results demonstrate perceptions that the main causes of errors and waste are related to (a) client changes; (b) design drawing and detail issues; and (c) problems with following ...
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 2010
Currently in the United Kingdom there is a trend to broaden the scope of service provision in the... more Currently in the United Kingdom there is a trend to broaden the scope of service provision in the healthcare sector. Not only are new healthcare-related services being provided to the community, but also there is increasing concern for providing services to extend the life cycle of built facilities. This trend is similar to what has been observed in manufacturing, where different approaches are used to combine products and services, generating high-value integrated solutions. This article analyzes integrated-solution approaches that have been adopted in the manufacturing sector and compares them to trends that are emerging in the healthcare sector. The practical implications of these trends in the UK healthcare sector are also pointed out. This study discusses how to improve value generation by combining products and services; it also addresses the need for a value-creating system that is capable of developing and sustaining new healthcare infrastructures. Some of the major changes ...
The need for improving the product development process within the construction industry is widely... more The need for improving the product development process within the construction industry is widely acknowledged. In response to this challenge, different process models have been developed by academia and industry to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the design and construction activity. However, the effective and widespread adoption and use of product development process models in practice has been limited, and the benefits resulting from these endeavours have been ambiguous
at best and non-existent at worst. This led to the research need for better understanding of the dynamics of implementing product development process models in construction firms. Such understanding includes identifying strategies to allow the
process model adaptation and adoption into specific project environments, as well as examining factors that affect implementation. To develop such understanding the
process management, organisational change and technology transfer literature have been revised and synthesised. The research methodology employed a case study approach to test research hypotheses and, in doing so, create new theoretical insights. Different research techniques were applied, including literature review and synthesis, interviews, observation, content analysis and cognitive mapping. As a result, a better understanding of implementation in real life settings was achieved through a detailed discussion of implementation cases. This research has produced a theoretical framework to evaluate the content of product development process models with a
view to its implementation and a typology for factors affecting implementation. The key research findings are: the need to consider the design and implementation of process models in an integrated fashion within the organisational context in which it
takes place; and, a shift in the role of product development process models within firms from a rational ‘planning and control perspective’ to a softer ‘learning’ approach.
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at best and non-existent at worst. This led to the research need for better understanding of the dynamics of implementing product development process models in construction firms. Such understanding includes identifying strategies to allow the
process model adaptation and adoption into specific project environments, as well as examining factors that affect implementation. To develop such understanding the
process management, organisational change and technology transfer literature have been revised and synthesised. The research methodology employed a case study approach to test research hypotheses and, in doing so, create new theoretical insights. Different research techniques were applied, including literature review and synthesis, interviews, observation, content analysis and cognitive mapping. As a result, a better understanding of implementation in real life settings was achieved through a detailed discussion of implementation cases. This research has produced a theoretical framework to evaluate the content of product development process models with a
view to its implementation and a typology for factors affecting implementation. The key research findings are: the need to consider the design and implementation of process models in an integrated fashion within the organisational context in which it
takes place; and, a shift in the role of product development process models within firms from a rational ‘planning and control perspective’ to a softer ‘learning’ approach.