Formed in 1901 by U.S. Steel Corporation, the Pittsburgh Steamship Company became the largest commercial fleet in the world and assumed a dominant role in Great Lakes shipping and the American steel industry. Tin Stackers tells its story: the ships, the men who sailed them, and the conditions that shaped their times. Drawing on company records and interviews with officials and sailors, Miller tells how the fleet kept organized labor off Great Lakes ships while leading the way in efficient operation, technological advancement, and employee safety. He emphasizes the human element in the company's history by relating the personal challenges faced by crews, and includes many archival photographs. Now navigating the waters of the lakes as the USS Great Lakes Fleet, Inc., these ships continue to play a part in commerce. Tin Stackers preserves their role in industrial history.

The idea of a Channel Tunnel has always aroused strong emotions in Britain. It has been supported by those wanting closer political, economic and cultural links with Europe but opposed by believers in Britain's island identity and overseas empire. In contrast, the French have been almost unanimously in favour. Channel Tunnel Vision 1850-1950 is an account of attempts over a century to build a link with France. Early schemes, some owing more to Heath-Robinson than to sound engineering practice, were succeeded by serious proposals based on scientific surveys of the sea-bed carried out in the 1860s. After describing the major entrepreneurs and their plans, Keith Wilson goes on to show the reactions of successive British Governments. On several occasions the decision on whether or not to go ahead was a very close-run thing. He quotes the views, which make remarkable reading, of Prime Ministers from Gladstone to Ramsay MacDonald; of Foreign Secretaries including Grey and Curzon; and of admirals and generals ranging from Fisher to Wolseley, French and Henry Wilson. Their fears of sabotage, invasion and a future political rift with France were set against hopes of economic advantage. They also saw an enhanced ability to respond quickly to future German aggression. How the existence of a Channel Tunnel would have affected the 1940 campaign is an intriguing speculation.

For the business and government relationship in Japan, the pre-war period was an era of considerable change. Framed by Japan's nation-building efforts, the relationship adapted and evolved with the often fluid economic and political circumstances. As both business and government had vested interests in the direction and success of Japan's industrialization process, on one level they became partners. At the same time, though, they were both stakeholders in the fiercely competitive iron and steel industry. This book explores how that partner-competitor relationship worked during the amalgamation of this strategic industry from 1916 to 1934, demonstrating how both parties engaged in meaningful negotiation through the open forum of the Shingikai - or Councils of Deliberation - throughout the pre-war period. Drawing upon the original minutes of the debates, it shows the ways in which the participants defended their vested interests and sought to forge agreement, taking the forum seriously as a means of influencing outcomes, and not simply as a mere exercise of artifice deployed to shroud the real locus of decision-making. Business-Government Relations in Prewar Japan is an important contribution to the literature on the relationship between government and business in pre-war Japan.

This collection deals with some interesting economic questions related to construction and real estate, namely how construction firms cope with the volatility of construction; whether speculative bubbles or market fundamentals drive those fluctuations; new techniques to predict construction demand; why the office market led the recent real estate cycle; and whether regulation is responsible for speculative behavior.

This book is an introductory text on building measurement and estimating for simple buildings in Hong Kong, based on the Hong Kong Standard Method of Measurement of Building Works 4th Edition Revised 2018 (HKSMM4 Rev 2018). It provides a toolkit for students and surveying technicians who are new to the subject. This second edition updates the contents in line with the HKSMM4 Rev 2018 and incorporates the latest industry developments such as BIM. The main text is divided into five parts following the development of a typical project. Part 1, Building the project team, introduces the team setup for a typical project. Part 2, Deciding the procurement strategy, explains the various procurement decisions to be made by an employer before any cost estimating and measurement work takes place. Part 3, Preparing for tender, covers the tendering methods, tender documentation and approximate estimating techniques used by Quantity Surveyors. Part 4, Measuring quantities, introduces measurement principles and HKSMM4 Rev 2018, followed by a detailed review of the measurement methods for each major trade, with worked examples. Part 5, Estimating unit rates, explores the basic techniques for unit rate preparation. The book contains worked examples from real Hong Kong building projects, self-assessment questions, reminders and points of note. It is essential reading for Hong Kong construction and surveying students, international Quantity Surveyors working in the local area and those wanting international examples of Quantity Surveryors practice.

Building automation systems and digital technologies are highly relevant for the environmental and energy performance of buildings. However, a clear gap remains between architectural engineering and the use of such technologies. Building Automation and Digital Technologies shows how to assimilate automation and digital technologies into making buildings smarter and more environmentally sustainable. This book shows why architects need smart and digital systems in building design and construction and promotes innovative technological tools for improving sustainability. It focuses on the development of automated environmental conditions and how new technology informs architectural engineering. The book also provides new evidence on the impact of building automation systems and digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and information and communication technology for developing a performance-based approach to the environmental sustainability of buildings, and provides a key reference for architects on how digital technology can inform their practice. Its four chapters cover: developing strategies for improving sustainable and smart buildings; architectural practice and construction technology; creativity and innovation in building automation systems; and the use phase of buildings. Building Automation and Digital Technologies meets a critical need for a sustainable and smart built environment from an architectural perspective, providing an important reference to architects and professionals in related fields by demonstrating the assimilation of the latest information and automation technologies.

Pursuing historical analogies between nineteenth-century theories and the current practices captivated by digital reproducibility, this book offers a critical take on architecture's contemporaneity through four essays: tectonics, materiality, cladding, and labor. Fundamental to this proposition is the historicity of Gottfried Semper's theorization of architecture amidst the outpouring of new materials and construction techniques during the 1850s. Starting with Semper's differentiation between theatricalization and the tectonic of theatricality, this book closely examines thematic essential to architecture's self-representation. Even though the title of this book recalls the Semperian four elements of architecture, its argument encapsulates a unique historico-theoretical project probing the tectonic of theatricality beyond Semper. The invisible tie between technique and labor is the cord running through the four subjects covered in this book. In exploring these subjects from the theoretical standpoint of Marxian dialectics, this book's contribution is focused on, but not limited to, the topicality of labor today when its relationship with capital has been further obscured by the prevailing digitalization of commodity exchange value, starting roughly in the 1990s. Each essay examines Semper's theorization of architecture in contradistinction to the ways in which technology's mediation has dominated architecture's representation. Burrowing through the invisible tie between technique and work, asymptomatic of architecture's predicament in global capitalism, this book advances the scope of architectural criticism beyond the exhausted formalism and architecture's turn to philosophy circa the 1980s and the present tendencies for presentism. It will therefore be of interest to researchers and students of architectural history and theory.

Knowledge management presents a new way of understanding organizations and companies, and is especially suited to sophisticated and highly technical firms and operations such as those in the construction industry.

This new book draws on hard data from three separate research programs in Sweden and shows how the concept of knowledge can make sense in the construction industry, an industry which can be viewed in essence as being engaged in the material transformation of "nature into buildings." In particular it explores and examines three different businesses: a medium sized construction firm; Wing rdh Architecture, Sweden s most prestigious architecture firm; and BESAB, a specialist concrete injection firm working on underground construction. An emerging theme is the situational and context-bound nature of knowledge in the construction industry, thus showing "knowledge" to be a remarkably heterogeneous concept.

A range of readers should find the book useful, from students and construction managers through to researchers.

Praise for Construction Project Management by Peter Fewings:

The complexity of the subject matter has at least been reinforced in an informative document with a large helping of common sense ... written in a comprehensive and well structured manner. Building Engineer Magazine

Ethics are not an optional extra for the professional in the built environment sector. Whether you're a civil engineer, an architect or a construction project manager, an understanding of the ethical context of your work is an institutional requirement and a commercial demand, not to mention a matter of personal pride.

Sometimes, as a construction professional you will be faced with complicated dilemmas, as commercial responsibilities clash with health and safety, environmental or competition concerns. Peter Fewings brings together practical construction project management experience with ethical theory to establish how best to deal with difficult issues.

This book was first published in 1967. This volume explores the history of the British iron and steel industry from 1760, tracking its development, relationship with the British economy, regional hubs, technological developments and the final triumph of steel over iron.

The knowledge and use of metals has played an important role in the evolution of many African cultures. This bibliography brings together, in one volume, publications on the origins, spread, mining, smelting, smithing, use, functions, aesthetics, significance, and impact of various metals and their alloys on African cultures. Covering African metallurgy from the African Iron Age to the present, this guide is a useful reference tool for archaeology, anthropology, ethnology, history, art, and religion.

Arranged geographically by country, the volume is fully annotated and includes both printed and electronic sources.

The ability to successfully procure built assets is at the heart of the construction process and in turn at the heart of the procurement process is identifying the constantly evolving needs of the construction client.
Despite client criticism and a mountain of reports and statistics, spanning both the public and private sectors, until now the construction industry has failed to transform the diverse and often separate and inefficient processes of design and procurement of built assets into one single integrated production process. There are now signs however that the construction industry is beginning to transform its approach to built asset procurement and client care.
This book draws heavily on the experiences and best practice of other industries and market sectors who have, just as construction is now having to do, taken a critical look at their procurement practices and techniques and the inherent waste in many traditional systems. The text includes practice-based case studies, from both the public and private sectors, to demonstrate how new procurement approaches are delivering value for money over the life cycle of built assets.
This book is recommended reading for a range of students in the field of the built environment from quantity surveyors and commercial managers to architects and an essential and comprehensive guide to all construction procurement professionals seeking to familiarise themselves with the latest approaches to procurement.
*Procurement based on the needs of the client.
*Different procurement systems evaluated.
*Worldwide case studies.

The construction enterprise is being transformed by visual modelling. Once principally used by researchers and in niche industries, tools such as 3D/4D CAD and virtual reality are now in widespread use in construction. This book is both a survey of the changes being made in practice and a detailed guide to future directions for research and development bringing together the work of leading practitioners and academics. A particular strength of the book is its many detailed case studies and examples, making it an excellent resource for practitioners, researchers, and students seeking to understand the details of how new tools and methods are applied in a business context. The 11 chapters address following topics: - Uses of 3D/4D CAD and its costs and benefits, - Applications of visual modelling at the work face, - Applications of visual modelling in the designer office, - Technical integration of visual modelling tools such as 3D/4D CAD and virtual reality.

The construction industry's latent potential for integrating and improving its procurement processes has long been recognized in most developed countries. Numerous government level reports insist that full integration of the design and construction supply chain can result in substantial gains in efficiency, morale and quality. New methods of working, such as partnering and prime contracting, give sophisticated opportunities for clients, end users and the design and construction supply-side to work in a more effective and collaborative way.

In the UK, the Latham and Egan reports have spurred further initiatives from the demand-side of the industry to speed the pace of reform, such as those seen in the launch of three radical best practice standards for construction procurement: the Confederation of Construction Clients' "Charter Handbook", the National Audit Office report "Modernising Construction" and the Department of Media, Culture and Sport report "Better Public Buildings".

Building Down Barriers, a guide to construction best practice explains and compares, simply and clearly, the main aspects of the three standards and also compares them with similar developments in countries such as the USA and Singapore. It goes on to examine not only the fundamental culture changes they necessitate in each sector of the UK construction industry, but also the consequences of ignoring them. The book is aimed at all members of the design and construction supply chain, including the client and end users, and it is a valuable guide for students in all design and construction courses

eBook available with sample pages: 0203398289

Contents:
1. Introduction. 2. Project Requirements. 3. Contract Strategy. 4. Project Modalities. 5. Developing a Strategy. 6. Quality. 7. Retrofitting and Maintenance. 8. Product Modalities. 9. The Supplying Market. 10. Forming the Team. 11. Engaging the Supply Chain. 12. Performance Modalities. 13. The Project Environment. 14. Design Roles and Responsibilities. 15. Tendering. 16. The Procurement Process.

Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul (RKP) in the 1950s to produce a series of major contributions across the social sciences. This volume is part of a 2001 reissue of a selection of those important works which have since gone out of print, or are difficult to locate. Published by Routledge, 112 volumes in total are being brought together under the name The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library: Classics from the Tavistock Press. Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1966 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.

Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul (RKP) in the 1950s to produce a series of major contributions across the social sciences. This volume is part of a 2001 reissue of a selection of those important works which have since gone out of print, or are difficult to locate. Published by Routledge, 112 volumes in total are being brought together under the name The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library: Classics from the Tavistock Press. Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1965 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.

This text reviews and analyzes how all parties to the construction process, from specialist sub-contractors and main contractors, to developers and funders and their respective lawyers, have adapted to the changes in the construction industry. There is advice on claims practice and tactics, how to minimize the finacial risks of pursuing a claim and what the courts or arbitrators expect both parties to have done to resolve the dispute.

The Joint Contracts Tribunal's Standard Form of Building Contract is the most common contract used in the UK to procure building work. Understanding it is a core part of any construction student's degree and a vital part of the working life of professionals in the construction industry. 'The JCT98 Building Contract' works through the contract systematically explaining it in easy-to-follow language, covering all contract issues thoroughly and illustrating with case law examples the current situation and latest amendments. It is ideal reading for both the student of construction and the professional seeking to update their knowledge.

This volume looks at many issues involved in the management of construction safety and health. It covers many different topics, such as an overview of health hazards in construction and the use of IT to help regulate public health and safety in construction.

Spon's European Construction Costs Handbook is the only book of its kind - a unique compilation of cost data on the single most important construction market in the world. This updated edition expands its coverage of countries and once again gives details of the difficult-to-research markets of Eastern Europe as well as Western Europe, North and South. The book includes: * key data on the main economic and construction indicators as well as on geography and population * an outline of the national construction industry covering structure, tendering and contract procedures, liability and insurance and regulation and standards. * labour and materials cost data * measured rates (in local currency) for up to 60 or so construction work items * approximate estimating costs for a range of building types * regional variation percentages, tax details, construction cost and retail price indices. Exchange rates with £ sterling, euro and US$ * addresses of authorities, professional institutions, trade associations etc. To facilitate country to country comparisons the book also includes a Comparative Data section, where figures from the individual country chapters are grouped in tables on economy, geography, construction output, input costs per square metre for offices, warehouses and housing. Figures here are given in national currency, sterling, US dollars and Euros.

This unique publication is the only detailed, multinational guide to the cost of construction work across Latin America. Thirteen countries are covered in detail in individual country chapters along with comparative regional information. The following information is given in the same way for each country: key data on the main economic and construction indicators as well as on geography and population; an outline of the national construction industry, covering structure, tendering and contract procedures, liability and insurance, and regulations and standards; labour and materials cost data; measured rates (in local currency) for up to 60 or so construction work items; approximate estimating costs for a range of building types; regional variation percentages, tax details, construction cost and retail price indices; exchange rates with u stirling, Euro and $ US; and addresses of authorities, professional institutions, trade associations etc. To facilitate country to country comparisons the book also includes a comparative data section, where figures from the individual country chapters are grouped in tables on economy, geography and population, construction output, input costs and co

This book describes current best practice in managing construction. It is based on case studies of leading practice responding to demands from customers that construction match the value and quality that international competition is forcing on their own businesses. The case studies show that major customers now partner with construction firms to find more efficient ways of working.

The resulting best practice adds to these cooperative approaches a drive for efficiency and innovation based on benchmarks of world class performance that empower teams to set themselves competitive targets. So the new approach balances cooperation and competition.
This is why Professor John Bennett's book is called ''Construction: The Third Way.'' The third way in modern politics balances the extremes of cooperation and competition in the interests of the whole community. At its best it encourages sustainable economic growth within a fair society. These aims are echoed in leading practice where teams able to balance cooperation and competition deliver better value for their customers and yet earn sustainably higher profits for construction.
The new approach requires managers to rethink construction using ideas from fundamental science that see human organizations as self-organizing networks of relationships. This throws new light on the strengths and weaknesses of both competition and cooperation, and provides the basis for a new paradigm to guide key construction decisions. The book describes this background and provides advice about organization structures that are responsive to changing markets and technologies, and construction processes that enable the industry to earch fair profits byproviding customers with the levels of value and quality they now demand.
*Based on case studies of world-class construction
*Links best practice and leading edge management theory
*Helps customers get good value and quality and construction firms be efficient and profitable