Most construction projects are large and costly. Collaborative working involves two or more stakeholders sharing their efforts and resources to complete the project more effectively and efficiently. Collaborative, integrative and multi-disciplinary teams can tackle the complex issues involved in creating a viable built environment. This tends to be looked at from three interrelated perspectives: the technological, organizational, and social; and of these the key issue is to improve productivity and enable innovation through the empowerment and motivation of people. This book provides insights for researchers and practitioners in the building and construction industry as well as graduate students, written by an international group of leading scholars and professionals into the potential use, development and limitations of current collaborative technologies and practices. Material is grouped into the themes of advanced technologies for collaborative working, virtual prototyping in design and construction, building information modelling, managing the collaborative processes, and human issues in collaborative working.

Innovation in Small Construction Firms promotes the benefits of innovation, and stimulate innovation capability within and between small and medium sized (SMEs) construction firms in an effort to bring in a new 'can innovate, should innovate, want to innovate' culture to the construction industry. Presenting new theoretical and practical insights and models grounded in descriptive case studies, the issues addressed include: what is the motivation to innovate? what is appropriate innovation? how can small construction firms create, manage and exploit innovation? what practice-based models, tools and techniques support the capability of small construction firms to innovate well? how does this fit in the context of leading international work in construction innovation? Findings are contextualised in the broader literature to make them of relevance to policy makers, practitioners and researchers interested in small, project-based firms in general.

Only 43 per cent of U.S. construction firms remain in business after four years. Why? Inadequate management, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. This is surprising because most construction firms are formed by ambitious construction project managers, executives and tradesmen who have excelled at what they have been doing. But as experienced as these entrepreneurs may be, they are not likely prepared to take on the full range of responsibilities forced on them in managing the business of construction in its entirety. While this business failure rate and its causes are based on U.S. experience, available data from a number of other industrialized countries shows they are similar. This book describes in detail what the business side of the construction equation requires of the construction firm owner. The contractor who quickly learns these requirements can identify and avoid or manage around the pitfalls that cause the high failure rate in our industry and put his or her construction firm on a level playing field with the best-run companies in the business. The detailed duties of the owner, whether in the U.S., U.K., Australia or Canada, are a common theme throughout the book. The author, Nick Ganaway, speaks peer-to-peer, and the book is sprinkled with supporting examples from his own experience. He is immersed in the industry and this book is "based on the things I've learned, used, and refined as a light-commercial general contractor in the course of starting and operating my own construction firm for 25 years." The contractor doing $5 million or $50 million or more in annual sales or the equivalent amount in other countries, or the entrepreneur who is just starting up, can use the tried and proven material in this book to build a business that is profitable, enjoyable, and enduring. Additionally, the book devotes a chapter to specializing in chain-store construction.

In recent years, metals have been among the safest and most lucrative investments around, but they are not entirely risk free. Before you begin investing or trading in metals, you need authoritative information and proven investment strategies. You need "Precious Metal Investing For Dummies."

This straightforward guide eases you into the precious metals market with sound advice on trading and owning these profitable investments, including gold, silver, platinum, and uranium, as well as high-demand base metals such as zinc and copper. You'll learn how to research their market performance and choose among an array of proven trading plans and strategies. Plus, you'll get savvy advice on how to choose a broker, buy stocks and futures that involve metals, maximize your investment return, and minimize your risk. Discover how to: Evaluate the different metalsAdd metals to your portfolioDecide whether you're an investor or a traderIdentify your metal-investment goalsWeigh the risks and benefits of metals investingBuy physical metalsUse technical analysis to evaluate opportunitiesMake long-term investments in precious metalsDiversify your metals investmentsAnalyze base-metals companiesPurchase numismatic coinsAdd metals to your mutual fund or ETF portfolioUnderstand how politics effects metals prices

Metals can be an important and valuable addition to any investment portfolio or retirement plan. Make the most out of your investment with "Precious Metal Investing For Dummies."

Volume 14A is an indispensable reference for manufacturing, materials, and design engineers. It provides comprehensive coverage and essential technical information on the process-design relationships that are needed to select and control metalworking operations that produce shapes from forging, extrusion, drawing and rolling operations. This engineering reference book is an invaluable reference resource for process and production engineers and industrial (shop-floor) personnel in the automotive, aerospace, and other industries, as well as for students of metal forming. In-depth discussion of forming equipment, processes, materials, and advanced modeling techniques make it a substantially new updated ASM Handbook. Some of the new topics and coverage include:Innovations with forming processes such as equal-channel angular extrusion and advanced roll-forming techniques Forming of special-purpose materials such as intermetallic alloys and composites) Discussion of advanced thermomechanical processes for both ferrous and non-ferrous alloys New articles dealing with process and material-behavior models, process optimization, and the properties of workpiece and die materials Contents includes: Introduction, Forging Equipment, Forging Processes, Cold Heading and Cold Extrusion, Other Bulk Forming Processes, Forging of Steels and Heat-Resistant Alloys, Forging of Nonferrous Metals, Evaluation of Workability, Modeling and Computer Aided Process Design for Bulk Forming, Reference Information.

Thin-walled structures can be used to absorb impact energy during a vehicle collision. Crush Mechanics of Thin-Walled Tubes describes the analysis and design of these lightweight elements and thoroughly explains the deformation behaviors of thin-walled hollow members under crushing loading. The book covers, in detail, thin-walled structures-under axial compression, bending, and torsion. It provides a complete understanding of the underlying concepts and mechanisms of energy absorption components, includes analysis techniques, and covers existing theoretical approaches along with the author's research. Geared toward engineering students, practicing mechanical and structural engineers, and researchers interested in analyzing energy absorption and designing structures that may undergo impacts, this book: Addresses axial compression of circular and square tubes, and bending and torsion of tubes Summarizes the mechanism of collapse and associated calculations for the initial peak force and the average compressive force Explores two factors controlling the axial collapse of a plate Investigates systematically the deformation characteristics of corrugated tubes under axial crush Provides an understanding of the collapse behavior of members undergoing bending deformation when trying to evaluate strength and energy-absorption characteristics Looks at the bending deformation of circular and square tubes Explains the characteristic flattening phenomenon, the maximum moment in bending deformation, and the moment-rotation relation during bending collapse Discusses the collapse behavior of thin-walled structures with an open cross section during axial crushing and bending deformation Includes the proposition of a new method for evaluating the maximum bending moment of square tubes with consideration of sidewall buckling Proposes a new technique that can be used to determine the relation between the bending moment M and the rotation angle Presents analysis methods for predicting the maximum torsion moment in each case A shelf-worthy reference showcasing structural mechanics, Crush Mechanics of Thin-Walled Tubes provides a basic understanding of the fundamental concepts and mechanisms of crushing deformations in thin-walled structures and serves as a guide for both teaching and self-study.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of issues that facility managers in the property industry need to understand and apply in the pursuit of value for money over the life span of built facilities. The authors introduce the fast-growing discipline of facility management, examine the core competencies that facility managers should possess and study different contemporary drivers of change. The book emphasises the need to consider facilities management issues at the pre-design stage of the construction process, rather than only when the building is completed, in order to maximise value for money.

Originally published in 1906, this volume presents a commercial review of the conditions and prospects of the iron and steel trades of Great Britain and its foreign competitors at the turn of the twentieth century. This title will be of interest to students of business and economics, as well as economic historians.

CONSTRUCTION MICROECONOMICS Unique and comprehensive reference describing microeconomic approaches, theories, and models adapted to and developed for the construction industry Construction Microeconomics provides comprehensive coverage of microeconomics applied to the construction industry, focusing on construction clients, who initiate construction projects, and on contractors who transform the ideas and plans of clients into infrastructure and buildings. With the help of microeconomic theory, it tries to answer questions about decision-making by clients, contractors, and governments with respect to projects in the built environment. It includes discussions of alternative theories to mainstream microeconomics, such as new institutional economics, behavioral economics, and the capability approach. Applications from the construction sector including land supply, sustainability, industrialization, and lean construction are provided to ground the theory in practical construction. In Construction Microeconomics, readers will learn: How microeconomic theory relies heavily on assumptions for modeling and the nuances of adjusting those assumptions How heterogenous contract goods affect supply and demand, markets, information, technology, and accordingly, the theories of contractors and owners How interaction influences the production process and how land as a production factor changes the production function How ex-ante costs determine the cost theory of the contractor and why contracting is more akin to the service sector than the goods sector Advanced undergraduate and masters students, lecturers and academics in -construction and related disciplines, and professionals in the construction industry looking for expert analysis into a unique facet of the field will find Construction Microeconomics to be a valuable, complete, and authoritative reference on the subject.

The financing of modern construction projects reflects the need to address the costs and benefits of the whole life of the project. This means that end of life economics can now have a far greater impact on the planning and feasibility phases. During the project itself, decisions on construction materials and processes all influence the schedule as well as both immediate and down-the-line costs. Massimo Pica and his co-authors explain in detail the fundamentals of project life cycle economics and how they apply in the context of complex modern construction. This is an essential guide for those involved in construction project design, tendering and contracting; to help ensure the sustainability of the project or their contribution to it, from the start. It is also important for those involved in the delivery of the project to help them make the choices to keep the project on a financial even keel. Government, corporations and other organizations are looking for new models of collaborative working to fund their large construction and infrastructure projects in the face of changing attitudes to risk; a better educated and more demanding base of end-user clients and the increasing requirements for projects that are environmentally responsible and sustainable. Project Life Cycle Economics is a fundamental primer for those commissioning and those delivering construction.

Over the last ten years public private partnerships have become ever more popular worldwide, expanding the body of experience among construction professionals, government agencies, and industry. In these economically challenging times, PPP has emerged as a crucial framework for providing infrastructure, and also to boost construction industry activity, while shielding the taxpayer from some of the cost. Understanding the lessons learnt is essential to ensuring the success of future projects, and this timely book will prepare the reader to do just that. Starting by defining PPP itself, part one is designed to help the novice to get to grips with the basics of this topic. Part two tackles the practicalities of PPPs, including successful implementation, managing the risks involved, and how to assess the suitability of a project for the PPP route. Part three presents detailed case studies from Asia, Africa, and Australia to illustrate how PPPs should be managed, how problems emerge, and how PPPs can differ across the world. Drawing on extensive internationally conducted research, from both industry and academia, the authors have written the essential PPP guide. Taking into consideration the perspectives of those in the public sector and the private sector, as well as built environment professionals, it is essential reading for anyone preparing to work on public private partnerships in construction.

Only 43 per cent of U.S. construction firms remain in business after four years. Why? Inadequate management, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. This is surprising because most construction firms are formed by ambitious construction project managers, executives and tradesmen who have excelled at what they have been doing. But as experienced as these entrepreneurs may be, they are not likely prepared to take on the full range of responsibilities forced on them in managing the business of construction in its entirety.
While this business failure rate and its causes are based on U.S. experience, available data from a number of other industrialized countries shows they are similar.
This book describes in detail what the business side of the construction equation requires of the construction firm owner. The contractor who quickly learns these requirements can identify and avoid or manage around the pitfalls that cause the high failure rate in our industry and put his or her construction firm on a level playing field with the best-run companies in the business. The detailed duties of the owner, whether in the U.S., U.K., Australia or Canada, are a common theme throughout the book.
The author, Nick Ganaway, speaks peer-to-peer, and the book is sprinkled with supporting examples from his own experience. He is immersed in the industry and this book is "based on the things I've learned, used, and refined as a light-commercial general contractor in the course of starting and operating my own construction firm for 25 years." The contractor doing $5 million or $50 million or more in annual sales or the equivalent amount in other countries, or the entrepreneur who is juststarting up, can use the tried and proven material in this book to build a business that is profitable, enjoyable, and enduring.
Additionally, the book devotes a chapter to specializing in chain-store construction.
* Learn what you need to succeed in the construction sector
* How to target, land and retain profitable customers
* Avoid the pitfalls of running your own construction business

The world of construction is intrinsically linked with that of finance, from the procurement and tendering stage of projects right through to valuation of buildings. In addition to this, things like administrations, liquidations, mergers, take-overs, buy-outs and floatations affect construction firms as they do all other companies. This book is a rare explanation of common construction management activities from a financial point of view. While the practical side of the industry is illustrated here with case studies, the authors also take the time to build up an understanding of balance sheets and P&L accounts before explaining how common tasks like estimating or valuation work from this perspective. Readers of this book will not only learn how to carry out the tasks of a construction cost manager, quantity surveyor or estimator, they will also understand the financial logic behind them, and the motivations that drive senior management. This is an essential book for students of quantity surveying or construction management, and all ambitious practitioners.

This book provides a broad investigation of various issues in East Asia's steel industry since the 1980s, including international specialization and trade relations, the sustainable use of resources, technological innovations, and environmental mitigation, alongside a consideration of the rapid growth in Chinese steel industry. Using macro and firm-level data, and case studies based on field research to discuss issues concerning the steel industry in East Asia. In search of an easy understanding, we try to simplify complicated economic models and statistical analyses, and concentrate on policy implications based as much as possible on the results of empirical analyses. We believe that this book will be of interest to policymakers, economists, practitioners and advocates of sustainability.

• Develops a framework and model for understanding the major causes of workplace health and safety problems in the construction • Provides practical guidance on how Building Information Modelling can be implemented and used to reduce occupational accidents in the industry

Most construction projects are large and costly. Collaborative working involves two or more stakeholders sharing their efforts and resources to complete the project more effectively and efficiently.

Collaborative, integrative and multi-disciplinary teams can tackle the complex issues involved in creating a viable built environment. This tends to be looked at from three interrelated perspectives: the technological, organizational, and social; and of these the key issue is to improve productivity and enable innovation through the empowerment and motivation of people.

This book provides insights for researchers and practitioners in the building and construction industry as well as graduate students, written by an international group of leading scholars and professionals into the potential use, development and limitations of current collaborative technologies and practices. Material is grouped into the themes of advanced technologies for collaborative working, virtual prototyping in design and construction, building information modelling, managing the collaborative processes, and human issues in collaborative working.

* Presents research aimed at helping the construction industry benchmark against Sustainable development Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

Mounting emphasis on construction supply chain management (CSCM) is due to both global sourcing of materials and a shortage of labor. These factors force increasing amounts of value-added work to be conducted off-site deep in the supply chain. Construction Supply Chain Management Handbook compiles in one comprehensive source an overview of the diverse research and examples of construction supply chain practice around the world. Reflecting the emergence of CSCM as an important area of multi-national research and practice, this volume takes an interdisciplinary perspective with contributions from leading international authors in three major areas: production and operations analysis, organizational perspectives, and information technology. The book begins with a survey of the current literature on modeling construction supply chain production and describes a set of approaches and methods for designing and operating project supply chains with references to design and materials production. It provides the basic framework for understanding the challenges and approaches to representing and improving supply chain performance. The next section recognizes the importance of considering arrangements between the different firms involved in designing, procuring, and assembling construction, and reviews various perspectives to understanding and improving organizational issues in the supply chain. The final section provides an overview of a range of information technologies that can contribute to supply chain performance, as well as examples of effective use. The organization and sourcing of materials is increasingly complex across the global construction industry. Construction clients are demanding faster, more responsive construction processes and higher quality facilities. This volume provides an invaluable resource to understanding the implications of supply chain management, which is sure to result in more effective construction project execution.

On February 4, 1986, the lives of thousands of workers changed in ways they could only begin to imagine. On that day, United Technologies Corporation ordered the closure of the 76-year-old American Bosch manufacturing plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, capping a nearly 32-year history of job loss and work relocation from the sprawling factory. The author, a former Bosch worker and the business agent for the union representing nearly 1,200 Bosch employees when the plant closed, interjects his personal recollections into the story.For more than 150 years Springfield stood at the center of a prosperous 200-mile industrial corridor along the Connecticut River, between Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Springfield, Vermont, populated with hundreds of machine tool and metalworking plants and thousands of workers. This book is a historical account of the profound economic collapse of the Connecticut River Valley region, with a particular focus on Bosch, its workers, and its union. The shutdown is placed in the context of the wider region's deindustrialization. The closure marked the watershed for large-firm metalworking and metalworking unions in the Connecticut River Valley. The book also describes how the United States, in a ten-year period from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, went from being the world's leading exporter of machine tools to its leading importer, and how that sharp decline affected the region's leading city, Springfield, Massachusetts, which by 2005 was in danger of bankruptcy.

This book covers a wide range of topics relating to the health and wellbeing of the construction workforce. Based on more than a decade of work examining various aspects of workers' health and wellbeing, the book addresses a key topic in construction management: how the design of work environments, construction processes and organisation of work impact upon construction workers' physical and psychological health. Occupational health is a significant problem for the construction industry. However, the subject of health is usually treated as an afterthought in other books which emphasise safety issues. Traditional management approaches (focused on the prevention of accidents and injuries) are arguably ill-suited to addressing issues of workers' health and wellbeing. The evidenced informed approach in this book provides a rich analysis of how construction workers' health and wellbeing are impacted by working in the construction industry, and critical information about how organisations (and decision-makers within them) can create workplaces and practices that are supportive and enable construction workers to maintain healthy and productive working lives. Including chapter summaries and discussion questions to encourage student readers to reflect on and formulate their own viewpoints about the issues raised in each chapter, the book has the potential to be used as a textbook in undergraduate or postgraduate occupational health and safety, or construction management courses dealing with occupational health and safety. It could also be used as supplementary, recommended reading in undergraduate or postgraduate programs in architecture, engineering or management.

Innovation in Small Construction Firms promotes the benefits of innovation, and stimulate innovation capability within and between small and medium sized (SMEs) construction firms in an effort to bring in a new 'can innovate, should innovate, want to innovate' culture to the construction industry. Presenting new theoretical and practical insights and models grounded in descriptive case studies, the issues addressed include: what is the motivation to innovate? what is appropriate innovation? how can small construction firms create, manage and exploit innovation? what practice-based models, tools and techniques support the capability of small construction firms to innovate well? how does this fit in the context of leading international work in construction innovation? Findings are contextualised in the broader literature to make them of relevance to policy makers, practitioners and researchers interested in small, project-based firms in general.

This book seeks to critically engage with emerging issues and debates within the construction industry, but from the perspective of developing economies. Themes such as the 4th industrial revolution, management of pandemics, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, collaboration, skills development, and behavioural studies are at the cutting edge of research and development in developed countries, however, they remain problematic for industries and environments which are yet to understand the emerging growth patterns of their economies. The successful integration and diffusion of these themes into developing nations' environments and cultures must be synchronized with their current developmental agenda. By acknowledging and understanding the difficulty and diversity of construction administrations that exist in different countries, this book can help construction professionals in developing countries to adopt technologies, policies and products which are proving successful in developed nations. Useful reading for researchers and practitioners in both developed and developing countries alike, this book gives an insight and understanding of emerging areas in developing countries.

Keeping historic buildings in good repair and, where possible, in use, is the key to their preservation. Owners of listed buildings are under no statutory obligation to maintain their property in a good state of repair, although it is in their interests to do so. Local authorities can, however, take action to secure repair when it becomes evident that a building is being allowed to deteriorate. Urgent Works Notices, Repairs Notices and Section 215 Notices can be very effective tools to help secure the preservation of historic buildings. This guidance is designed to help local authorities make effective use of these powers. It provides step-by-step advice on the use of the main procedures and includes case studies and a selection of specimen letters, notices, schedules and agreements. Samples of these are available to download at the bottom of this page for local authorities wishing to edit them for their own use.

• Major overhaul and restructure since previous edition • New coverage of hot topics including ethics, modern slavery and digital construction

Contents:
Foreword. 1. Regional Overview. 2. Australia. 3. China Mainland. 4. China Hong Kong. 5. India. 6. Indonesia. 7. Japan. 8. Singapore. 9. South Korea. 10. Sri Lanka. 11. Vietnam.