Emerging as an innovative tool with rapidly increasing usage in the construction industry, Buildi... more Emerging as an innovative tool with rapidly increasing usage in the construction industry, Building Information Modeling (BIM) can provide a platform to enable two dimensions of information exchange, namely i) information sharing among relevant participants within a certain project phase; and ii) information exchange between two or more project phases. The latter is of vital importance to help achieve potential life cycle benefits of BIM. However, a significant gap exists in information flows in current BIM implementation in Hong Kong, between 'Design & Construction' (D&C) and ‘Operation & Management' (O&M). This paper discusses the potential application of a relational management framework named 'Relationally Integrated Value Networks' (RIVANS) to guide the process of information exchange between ‘D&C’ and ‘O&M’ in a BIM system. Possible causes of the above information flow gap are explored and proposals are developed based on RIVANS principles to bridge this ga...
Cheung, S. O., Wong, P. S. P. and Wing Yiu, T. W. eds., 2015. The Soft Power of Construction Con... more Cheung, S. O., Wong, P. S. P. and Wing Yiu, T. W. eds., 2015. The Soft Power of Construction Contracting Organisations. London: Routledge. 226 pages. ISBN – 9781138805286.
Sustainability goals and environmental performance of construction and infrastructure development... more Sustainability goals and environmental performance of construction and infrastructure development projects are often determined by construction clients or consultants (in design specifications), or set out by the government (in the form of regulations, codes and ordinances). Contractors and subsequent layers of sub-contractors and suppliers rarely have opportunities or mechanisms to provide feedback to the consultants and clients. This results in: i) the hindrance of learning from lessons captured by these other project stakeholders (acquired through their experiences from other projects they worked on) to be relayed back to the client or consultant; and ii) the lack of support systems and mechanisms for these companies (particularly for the smaller or more specialized subcontractors/suppliers) to collaborate with the consultant, client and/or main contractor to nourish innovation and create greater value together. Based on a study conducted in Hong Kong through a series of semi-str...
Effective knowledge management is increasingly considered as a cornerstone of sustainable busines... more Effective knowledge management is increasingly considered as a cornerstone of sustainable business success. Knowledge management systems are strategically valuable for both ensuring consistency and continuous improvement of various aspects such as quality delivery, productivity and competitiveness. The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry are mostly operating under tighter timeframes, narrower profit margins and more constrained resources. Hence the recently commenced SMILE-SMC (Strategic Management with Information Leveraged Excellece for Small and Medium Contractors) project aims to support the information and knowledge management needs of the small and medium contractors in Hong Kong. This paper presents some snapshots on the SMILE-SMC project, and its conceptualized deliverables with some highlights of recent developments.
ISO9000-based Quality Management Systems(QMSs) have been widely applied by manycontractors with a... more ISO9000-based Quality Management Systems(QMSs) have been widely applied by manycontractors with a hope to improve the productquality and hence achieve the desiredobjective of client satisfaction. However,setting up and implementing an ISO9000-based QMS is not without cost. Unless thecontractors can benefit from such system, it isunlikely that the senior management ofcontracting firms will commit to implement anISO9000-based QMS. In this paper, the costsof setting up and implementing an ISO9000-based QMS are assessed through aquestionnaire survey. The results arecompared with the benefits attained by thecontractors. It is found that contractors couldbe benefited from the use of ISO9000-basedQMS both tangibly and intangibly. Based on amore conservative estimation of some tangiblebenefits, a basic operational cost-benefit ratioof one to three was derived from the results ofthe survey. Since the latest version ofISO9000 has been fully implemented for anumber of years, the perception of ...
Capitalising useful knowledge for construction procurementselection (CPS) decisions would provide... more Capitalising useful knowledge for construction procurementselection (CPS) decisions would provide a valuable asset to clientorganisations, as the successful/unsuccessful experience wouldhelp decision-makers avoid the occurrence of similar errors andensure the most suitable procurement system is employed fora construction project. As a result, there is a need to examinethe potential for developing a knowledge management model tocapture and reuse experiential knowledge to guide CPS decisions.This paper begins by identifying a suitable approach for managingCPS knowledge. This is followed by a discussion of the knowledgerequired for CPS decision support. A prototype knowledgemanagementmodel is developed, using the case-based reasoning(CBR) approach, and a mechanism for the retrieval and reuse ofknowledge for guiding CPS decisions is elucidated. The resultsindicate that CBR is a suitable tool for formulating the procurementselection parameters and selecting a suitable procurementsystem f...
Employing a suitable construction procurement system is crucial to project success. However,many ... more Employing a suitable construction procurement system is crucial to project success. However,many clients select procurement systems in a cursory manner and some clientseven use a specific procurement system by default without deliberate choice. A systematicmethod for procurement selection would help clients to arrive at more informed decisions.The first step towards a systematic procurement selection method is to identify decisioncriteria pertinent to assessing the alternatives. This paper identifies the commonly consideredcriteria for procurement selection through a qualitative survey in Australia. The subjectivityof the identified criteria is considered and the effects on procurement selectionare examined. The results indicate that speed, complexity, flexibility, responsibility, qualitylevel, risk allocation, and price competition cannot be easily gauged by objective means,and a misperception of the degree of fulfilment of any of these criteria could affect theoutcome of procureme...
SUMMARY Several influential industry reports have pointed out that a decline in construction qual... more SUMMARY Several influential industry reports have pointed out that a decline in construction quality and productivity could be attributed to the performance of subcontractors who are entrusted to complete the actual works, yet subcontractor performance appraisal is a much neglected subject in construction. To facilitate subcontractor registration, management and/or selection, an equitable and reliable subcontractor performance appraisal would be indispensable. Being regarded as a reliable and practical means for performance evaluation, the balanced scorecard should have a high potential for improving the quality subcontractor appraisal decisions. This paper discusses the issues in developing a balanced scorecard model for subcontractor performance appraisal. The current practice of appraising subcontractor performance begin is first outlined. It is then followed by introducing the research methodology. The structure of the balanced scorecard model for subcontractor performance appra...
The primary goal of Lean Production is to avoid the wastage of time, money and other resources. I... more The primary goal of Lean Production is to avoid the wastage of time, money and other resources. In the construction setting, a lot of wastages are attributed to delays, rework and the subsequent non-productive efforts expended in resolving disputes arising from such inefficiencies. Deficient specifications have been implicated in many waste scenarios. Despite that, little research has been conducted to examine the deficiencies of specifications. In this paper, the causes of deficient specifications are firstly examined under a postulated framework of issues that can be reasonably expected to be addressed by specification s - emb racing formatting, technical, people management, legal and communication issues. Secondly, this paper aims at exploring the potential roles of specification s in the context of some of these issues, in elevating construction performance levels through a le an construction based strategy.
Subcontractors contribute significantly to construction projects and their performance can seriou... more Subcontractors contribute significantly to construction projects and their performance can seriously affect over-all project success. It is crucial, therefore, to appraise the performance of subcontractors to ensure they satisfy the client's expectations and project requirements. To increase the transparency and accuracy of subcontractor appraisal, the baseline and target performance levels should be set at the outset so that the appraisers and those being appraised realize exactly what standards are to be achieved. The balanced scorecard, being a powerful tool for performance appraisal, offers a potentially good approach for modeling the subcontractor appraisal process. In this paper, an approach to developing a balanced scorecard subcontractor appraisal model is proposed and demonstrated through a questionnaire survey administered in Hong Kong and from which the baseline and target performance levels for large-scale skilled subcontractors are identified. A case example is used...
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 2005
PurposeThe purpose is to report the results of research on ascertaining whether the various stake... more PurposeThe purpose is to report the results of research on ascertaining whether the various stakeholders in construction projects can adequately cope with the stresses they are confronting.Design/methodology/approachThirty‐three stressors covering various aspects of project implementation, such as organisation policies, working relationships, communication and personal factors, are identified and the manageability of the common stressors faced by management of construction projects in Hong Kong is assessed by means of a questionnaire survey. The relationships among individual stressors are similarly examined. The extent to which stress effects combine and accumulate when related stressors coexist is also considered.FindingsIt is shown that the most difficult stressors to manage are “bureaucracy”, “lack of opportunity to learn new skills”, “work‐family conflicts” and “different view from superiors”. The results also revealed that the patterns of stress manageability differ between cl...
Emerging as an innovative tool with rapidly increasing usage in the construction industry, Buildi... more Emerging as an innovative tool with rapidly increasing usage in the construction industry, Building Information Modeling (BIM) can provide a platform to enable two dimensions of information exchange, namely i) information sharing among relevant participants within a certain project phase; and ii) information exchange between two or more project phases. The latter is of vital importance to help achieve potential life cycle benefits of BIM. However, a significant gap exists in information flows in current BIM implementation in Hong Kong, between 'Design & Construction' (D&C) and ‘Operation & Management' (O&M). This paper discusses the potential application of a relational management framework named 'Relationally Integrated Value Networks' (RIVANS) to guide the process of information exchange between ‘D&C’ and ‘O&M’ in a BIM system. Possible causes of the above information flow gap are explored and proposals are developed based on RIVANS principles to bridge this ga...
Cheung, S. O., Wong, P. S. P. and Wing Yiu, T. W. eds., 2015. The Soft Power of Construction Con... more Cheung, S. O., Wong, P. S. P. and Wing Yiu, T. W. eds., 2015. The Soft Power of Construction Contracting Organisations. London: Routledge. 226 pages. ISBN – 9781138805286.
Sustainability goals and environmental performance of construction and infrastructure development... more Sustainability goals and environmental performance of construction and infrastructure development projects are often determined by construction clients or consultants (in design specifications), or set out by the government (in the form of regulations, codes and ordinances). Contractors and subsequent layers of sub-contractors and suppliers rarely have opportunities or mechanisms to provide feedback to the consultants and clients. This results in: i) the hindrance of learning from lessons captured by these other project stakeholders (acquired through their experiences from other projects they worked on) to be relayed back to the client or consultant; and ii) the lack of support systems and mechanisms for these companies (particularly for the smaller or more specialized subcontractors/suppliers) to collaborate with the consultant, client and/or main contractor to nourish innovation and create greater value together. Based on a study conducted in Hong Kong through a series of semi-str...
Effective knowledge management is increasingly considered as a cornerstone of sustainable busines... more Effective knowledge management is increasingly considered as a cornerstone of sustainable business success. Knowledge management systems are strategically valuable for both ensuring consistency and continuous improvement of various aspects such as quality delivery, productivity and competitiveness. The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry are mostly operating under tighter timeframes, narrower profit margins and more constrained resources. Hence the recently commenced SMILE-SMC (Strategic Management with Information Leveraged Excellece for Small and Medium Contractors) project aims to support the information and knowledge management needs of the small and medium contractors in Hong Kong. This paper presents some snapshots on the SMILE-SMC project, and its conceptualized deliverables with some highlights of recent developments.
ISO9000-based Quality Management Systems(QMSs) have been widely applied by manycontractors with a... more ISO9000-based Quality Management Systems(QMSs) have been widely applied by manycontractors with a hope to improve the productquality and hence achieve the desiredobjective of client satisfaction. However,setting up and implementing an ISO9000-based QMS is not without cost. Unless thecontractors can benefit from such system, it isunlikely that the senior management ofcontracting firms will commit to implement anISO9000-based QMS. In this paper, the costsof setting up and implementing an ISO9000-based QMS are assessed through aquestionnaire survey. The results arecompared with the benefits attained by thecontractors. It is found that contractors couldbe benefited from the use of ISO9000-basedQMS both tangibly and intangibly. Based on amore conservative estimation of some tangiblebenefits, a basic operational cost-benefit ratioof one to three was derived from the results ofthe survey. Since the latest version ofISO9000 has been fully implemented for anumber of years, the perception of ...
Capitalising useful knowledge for construction procurementselection (CPS) decisions would provide... more Capitalising useful knowledge for construction procurementselection (CPS) decisions would provide a valuable asset to clientorganisations, as the successful/unsuccessful experience wouldhelp decision-makers avoid the occurrence of similar errors andensure the most suitable procurement system is employed fora construction project. As a result, there is a need to examinethe potential for developing a knowledge management model tocapture and reuse experiential knowledge to guide CPS decisions.This paper begins by identifying a suitable approach for managingCPS knowledge. This is followed by a discussion of the knowledgerequired for CPS decision support. A prototype knowledgemanagementmodel is developed, using the case-based reasoning(CBR) approach, and a mechanism for the retrieval and reuse ofknowledge for guiding CPS decisions is elucidated. The resultsindicate that CBR is a suitable tool for formulating the procurementselection parameters and selecting a suitable procurementsystem f...
Employing a suitable construction procurement system is crucial to project success. However,many ... more Employing a suitable construction procurement system is crucial to project success. However,many clients select procurement systems in a cursory manner and some clientseven use a specific procurement system by default without deliberate choice. A systematicmethod for procurement selection would help clients to arrive at more informed decisions.The first step towards a systematic procurement selection method is to identify decisioncriteria pertinent to assessing the alternatives. This paper identifies the commonly consideredcriteria for procurement selection through a qualitative survey in Australia. The subjectivityof the identified criteria is considered and the effects on procurement selectionare examined. The results indicate that speed, complexity, flexibility, responsibility, qualitylevel, risk allocation, and price competition cannot be easily gauged by objective means,and a misperception of the degree of fulfilment of any of these criteria could affect theoutcome of procureme...
SUMMARY Several influential industry reports have pointed out that a decline in construction qual... more SUMMARY Several influential industry reports have pointed out that a decline in construction quality and productivity could be attributed to the performance of subcontractors who are entrusted to complete the actual works, yet subcontractor performance appraisal is a much neglected subject in construction. To facilitate subcontractor registration, management and/or selection, an equitable and reliable subcontractor performance appraisal would be indispensable. Being regarded as a reliable and practical means for performance evaluation, the balanced scorecard should have a high potential for improving the quality subcontractor appraisal decisions. This paper discusses the issues in developing a balanced scorecard model for subcontractor performance appraisal. The current practice of appraising subcontractor performance begin is first outlined. It is then followed by introducing the research methodology. The structure of the balanced scorecard model for subcontractor performance appra...
The primary goal of Lean Production is to avoid the wastage of time, money and other resources. I... more The primary goal of Lean Production is to avoid the wastage of time, money and other resources. In the construction setting, a lot of wastages are attributed to delays, rework and the subsequent non-productive efforts expended in resolving disputes arising from such inefficiencies. Deficient specifications have been implicated in many waste scenarios. Despite that, little research has been conducted to examine the deficiencies of specifications. In this paper, the causes of deficient specifications are firstly examined under a postulated framework of issues that can be reasonably expected to be addressed by specification s - emb racing formatting, technical, people management, legal and communication issues. Secondly, this paper aims at exploring the potential roles of specification s in the context of some of these issues, in elevating construction performance levels through a le an construction based strategy.
Subcontractors contribute significantly to construction projects and their performance can seriou... more Subcontractors contribute significantly to construction projects and their performance can seriously affect over-all project success. It is crucial, therefore, to appraise the performance of subcontractors to ensure they satisfy the client's expectations and project requirements. To increase the transparency and accuracy of subcontractor appraisal, the baseline and target performance levels should be set at the outset so that the appraisers and those being appraised realize exactly what standards are to be achieved. The balanced scorecard, being a powerful tool for performance appraisal, offers a potentially good approach for modeling the subcontractor appraisal process. In this paper, an approach to developing a balanced scorecard subcontractor appraisal model is proposed and demonstrated through a questionnaire survey administered in Hong Kong and from which the baseline and target performance levels for large-scale skilled subcontractors are identified. A case example is used...
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 2005
PurposeThe purpose is to report the results of research on ascertaining whether the various stake... more PurposeThe purpose is to report the results of research on ascertaining whether the various stakeholders in construction projects can adequately cope with the stresses they are confronting.Design/methodology/approachThirty‐three stressors covering various aspects of project implementation, such as organisation policies, working relationships, communication and personal factors, are identified and the manageability of the common stressors faced by management of construction projects in Hong Kong is assessed by means of a questionnaire survey. The relationships among individual stressors are similarly examined. The extent to which stress effects combine and accumulate when related stressors coexist is also considered.FindingsIt is shown that the most difficult stressors to manage are “bureaucracy”, “lack of opportunity to learn new skills”, “work‐family conflicts” and “different view from superiors”. The results also revealed that the patterns of stress manageability differ between cl...
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