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Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Construction & heavy industry > Construction industry
The construction logistics manager plays an increasingly central role in the construction process. In fact, their decisions can crucially affect the success or failure of a project. Recognition of the critical role they play has spurred evermore interest in this budding field amongst both researchers and practitioners. An accessible text on construction logistics, Supply Chain Management and Logistics in Construction provides essential guidance and expert advice for construction managers, as well as researchers and students in the field. This important new title looks at arrangements with suppliers, the use of returnable packaging and off-site manufacture and assembly, IT systems used to manage the supply chain and logistics operations, such as delivery management systems, warehouse management systems and material planning and forecasting systems. It also considers aspects of the contractual relationships between client, developer, main contractor and lower-tier contractors, all of which have an impact on how the supply chain is managed. In addition to providing a range of fresh ground-breaking case studies, the book features contributions from leading experts in the field who have been involved in projects with companies such as TFL, BAA, The Red Cross, as well as big construction programmes such as the Olympics and Cross Rail.
To many program, project, or construction managers, a complex project seems to be a labyrinth with many hidden dangers. This book is a guide through that labyrinth. It explains best practices and provides insight so they cannot only identify hidden dangers but also effectively manage the construction process to either mitigate or eliminate these risks. The book presents a systems-based approach to construction project management that can facilitate a greater understanding of the complexity inherent in large construction projects and how that complexity can be effectively managed. The systems approach permits the onsite construction project manager to take a complex construction project, break it down into manageable pieces, and ensure that all systems are in alignment with the original goal of the project. This approach combines industrial engineering, project management, and finance into a unified approach for effective management of complex construction projects, ranging from a power plant to a highway project. The book explains how to manage construction projects successfully through an approach based on the three following systems: Project Management System Work Management System Quality Management System The problem with complex programs and projects is that many managers are only equipped with a knowledge of project management. A system for construction is a collection of many processes effectively working together to produce a specific deliverable, which is usually defined in the program or project's contract. This system has a series of specific inputs and outputs, which are what the customer expects from the company or companies performing the work. This book develops checklists based on these inputs and outputs, which managers can use when first arriving onsite, and provides a "nuts and bolts" approach for managing a complex construction project onsite. The author shares valuable lessons learned during a career of more than thirty years of working on various construction sites around the world. These lessons learned are filled with valuable information to aid readers become more effective as a program, project, or construction manager of complex construction projects.
Highlights nanotechnology applications in smart buildings. Reviews nano-enhanced glass and phase change materials for energy saving and energy storage. Discusses nanomaterials used in air purification applications as well as sustainable pigments. Covers latest developments in polymers, glasses, coatings, paints, and insulating materials.
This guide will help the contractor's staff overcome some of the difficulties encountered on a typical international contract using FIDIC forms. The majority of FIDIC-based contracts use the Red Book
(Conditions of Contract for Construction), so this book
concentrates on the use of those particular forms. Supplementary
comments are included in Appendix C for the Yellow Book (Plant
& Design-Build) recommended for use where the contractor has a
design responsibility. The guide is not intended to be a review of the legal aspects of FIDIC- based contracts; legal advice should be obtained as and when necessary, particularly if the Contractor has little or no knowledge of the local law. Armed on site with a copy of The Contractor and the FIDIC Contract, the Contractor's Representative will be more able to avoid contractual problems rather than spend considerable time and energy resolving those problems once they have arisen.
Risk is related to the magnitude and uncertainty of an output (consequence or outcome); outputs take on different identities in different disciplines and situations. Risk is peculiar to each stakeholder and the measurement scale for risk depends on the stakeholder's value system. Risk management provides a way of addressing the issues associated with the magnitude and uncertainty of outputs. This book provides a distinctively rational treatment of risk and risk management, based on a systems approach. The book's treatment applies to all disciplines and sets out the principles of risk and risk management as well as looking at a range of applications and more specialist tools and approaches. The book: Develops a risk framework through a systems approach Offers a challenging and fresh approach for infrastructure engineering, construction and project management in general The book will suit students and practitioners alike.
Construction Delays, Third Edition, provides the latest specialized tools and techniques needed to avoid delays on construction projects. These include institutional, industrial, commercial, hi-rise, power and water, transportation and marine construction projects. Most other references provide only post facto construction delay analysis. This update includes 18 chapters, 105 sections and approximately 100 new pages relative to the second edition.
Despite the wide range of technologies involved, the construction industry still relies heavily on one old-fashioned component: the human. The clients, managers, designers, investors, and a whole host of other stakeholders are all involved in a crucial series of relationships that are just as important to project success as technical know-how. As construction projects become increasingly international as well as interdisciplinary, the risk and cost of disharmonious working grows ever larger. The growth of IT and the increased reliance on large mergers and joint-ventures have created new problems, which require a new set of solutions. Recent research has generated profound insights into international differences in business culture. This new work presents up-to-date theory and practical guidance, identifying situations in which cultural differences present challenges. A focus on "critical incidents", demonstrated in a range of case studies will help readers to foresee such situations in their own projects and processes, and so improve strategic and operational decision-making in construction collaborations. Detailed examples are taken from the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Turkey, the UAE, and China, to explore a variety of problems in very different economic and cultural surroundings. A range of professionals (contractors, developers, investors, architects, engineers, governments, public/private clients) will find this book highly valuable, as will researchers and students.
Clients have been identified as critical for building delivery but have been under-researched with only a few studies about them. This book seeks to address this gap. A deeper look into the nature of construction clients and their relation to building users exposes more fundamental questions related to the activity of building and the activity in the building. These fundamental questions include 'How do clients get what they want?', 'How do clients cope with the building process?', and 'How are clients being shaped by building(s)?'. This book on clients and users is structured around three main themes: Agency is concerned with the classical agency/structure dichotomy on actions, roles and responsibilities or, put differently, whether actors can act freely or are bound by structural constraints. Governance is related to the interplay between clients and the supply system: clients govern the supply system but are at the same time governed by the supply system through different processes and mechanisms. Innovation deals with construction innovation and what part clients and users play in this struggle between change and stability. The book includes theoretical and conceptual frameworks on what constitutes clients and users as well as case studies on R&D themes of relevance to practice.
This internationally conducted study of the latest construction industry practices addresses a broad range of Information and Communication Technology applications. Drawing on research conducted in the US and UK, this book presents the state of the art of various ebusiness processes, and examines BIM, virtual environments and mobile technologies. Innovation is a theme that runs throughout this book, so in addition to the direct impact of these new technical achievements, it also considers the management styles that helped them to emerge. Examples from industry are illustrated with case studies and presented alongside research from some of the best known academics in this field. This book is essential reading for all advanced students and researchers interested in how ICT is changing construction management and the construction industry.
A convergence of lean management and quality management thinking has taken place in organizations across many industries, including construction. Practices in procurement, design management and construction management are all evolving constantly and understanding these changes and how to react is essential to successful management. This book provides valuable insights for owners, designers and constructors in the construction sector. Starting by introducing the language of total quality, lean and operational excellence, this book takes the reader right up to the latest industry practice in this sector, and demonstrates the best way to manage change. Written by two of the world's leading experts, Total Construction Management: Lean quality in construction project delivery offers a clearly structured introduction to the most important management concepts and practices used in the global construction industry today. This authoritative book covers issues such as procurement, BIM, all forms of waste, construction safety, and design and construction management, all explained with international case studies. It is a perfect guide for managers in all parts of the industry, and ideal for those preparing to enter the industry.
A convergence of lean management and quality management thinking has taken place in organizations across many industries, including construction. Practices in procurement, design management and construction management are all evolving constantly and understanding these changes and how to react is essential to successful management. This book provides valuable insights for owners, designers and constructors in the construction sector. Starting by introducing the language of total quality, lean and operational excellence, this book takes the reader right up to the latest industry practice in this sector, and demonstrates the best way to manage change. Written by two of the world's leading experts, Total Construction Management: Lean quality in construction project delivery offers a clearly structured introduction to the most important management concepts and practices used in the global construction industry today. This authoritative book covers issues such as procurement, BIM, all forms of waste, construction safety, and design and construction management, all explained with international case studies. It is a perfect guide for managers in all parts of the industry, and ideal for those preparing to enter the industry.
In recent years, Information Technology (IT) has been transforming business practice in many sectors resulting in efficiency gains and improved services for the client. The construction industry lags behind other manufacturing and service industries in adopting the new technology. To promote the wider use of IT in construction, it is essential to equip practitioners and graduates of construction related disciplines with knowledge of existing construction IT applications. This book provides an overview of a broad range of IT applications currently available for all stages throughout the life cycle of a building project, from essential office and information management through to computer-aided design (CAD), cost estimating, project planning and scheduling, and facilities management and building maintenance. It is an invaluable and handy reference for construction professionals and clients, as well as being a clear and comprehensive text for students studying construction, building or architectural courses.
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.
Originally published in 1986, The Permafrost Environment examines how the search for oil, gas and minerals in the arctic region instigated new and vitally important needs to understand the permafrost environment. The construction of roads, airfields, buildings and pipelines in this inhospitable environment has posed enormous problems for engineers and geologists. This book is a comprehensive review of the nature of the permafrost environment and its utilization. It looks at environmental processes and their effects and examines the management problems which result. It provides a detailed look at how normal procedures for construction etc. need to be modified to cope with the special conditions and it gives examples from throughout the arctic region, including Canada, Siberia, Alaska, Greenland and Northern Scandinavia.
Value management has been applied to construction projects throughout the world, but in some regions, it is just gaining popularity. Therefore, it is necessary to create awareness of value management among stakeholders and understand various obstacles to its implementation. Value Management Implementation in Construction addresses various factors that can enhance the application of the discipline as well as its adoption among concerned stakeholders. This book discusses the practice of value management in various developed and developing countries by exposing the techniques and models that can be employed in value management exercises, with a view to achieving sustainable development while delivering projects to the satisfaction of clients. This book provides guidance on value management as a tool for improving the delivery of infrastructural projects for construction professionals, employers of labour, researchers and students alike with evidence from various countries around the world.
Organizations in the construction industry struggle with three key issues: quality management or better meeting customer expectations, supply chain management or more effectively working with suppliers to provide a seamless service to customers, and knowledge management, the challenge of learning between collaborating organisations and between people working on similar projects around the world. Excellence in these key aspects of business is the hallmark of great companies. This book tackles each of these themes, demonstrating their significance as strategic concepts for the construction sector and illustrating how development goals in each of the areas can be met. To be successful Total Quality has to impact on the organisation's Performance, which should be measured on a "balanced scorecard", including the results from the customer. This can be achieved through good Planning and improvements in Processes through involvement of the People. These 4Ps combine with the 4Cs - Customer, Culture, Communication and Commitment to provide a model for implementing total quality into construction. The book brings together, within this consistent theoretical framework, international case studies from all areas of the construction industry. These include examples as diverse as quarrying, construction, design, real estate, land development and regulatory agencies, drawn from the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Singapore Australia and Japan. Through these the authors demonstrate how a total quality or business excellence strategy can be applied in all activities in the construction supply chain to achieve world-class performance. Written by two of the world's leading experts, in a logical and very practical style, Total Quality in the Construction Supply Chain offers students and others new to the subject a clearly structured introduction to the concept of quality in the industry, while offering help and guidance to the most experienced professionals. The book should also appeal to people from all areas of the building and construction sector in any country.
This topical and timely book presents and innovative approach to dealing with the complexities of cost planning in PFI. PFI/PPP projects have a significantly different costing environment from conventionally procured projects, requiring cost analysts to use their expertise and innovative thinking to develop whole-life cost solutions that deliver value for money to the client, thus improving public building assets performance. Abdelhalim Boussabaine provides a thorough grounding in the theory of PFI, from its early evolution through to examples of current projects. In particular, the rationale for private financing of public services, arguments for and against PFI and 'value for money' mechanisms are discussed. The book presents an innovative framework for whole-life value and calls for changes in the way whole life cycle value is perceived, created and exchanged. Cost Planning of PFI and PPP Building Projects provides the reader with existing knowledge as well as present innovative thinking for future development and management of PFI/PPP cost planning processes. Given the importance and novelty of this book, academics, professionals, undergraduate and postgraduate students will find this book valuable.
The American construction industry, reponsible for nearly 4% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, directly employs over five million people and provides millions of additional support jobs in related fields. This book provides an introductory overview of the economic aspects of the industry, including the historical development of building activity from earliest times to modern day market-based construction, including the work of individual artisans to complex construction unions. The book explores current trends in labor force participation; the measurement of industry performance; the determinants of investment; government involvement; competition; wage determination; training; and worker safety.
Construction is one of the most challenging industrial environments for effective people management. It is characterised by geographically dispersed projects, production-oriented management styles, long working hours, high levels of staff turnover and employment practices grounded in the traditional 'personnel' paradigm. The employee resourcing function - recruitment, selection and deployment - is largely reactive and intuitive, and fails to draw on the longer-term benefits of strategic human resource management (SHRM). This book explores the challenges inherent in employee resourcing in-depth. It provides insights into the strategic considerations and operational approaches adopted by large construction organisations in deploying their human resources. It presents an improved framework for informed SHRM-style decision-making derived from an extensive study conducted within eight major construction organisations. This book provides a valuable resource for both students and practitioners interested in evaluating and improving current organisational practice.
Cost management of all building projects has become increasingly important as clients in the public and private sector demand the highest quality cost planning services with accurate budgeting and cost control. All members of the design team must integrate their activities to ensure that a high quality project is delivered on time and within budget. This book considers building cost planning and cost control from the client and the design team's perspective, where all decisions whether concerned with design, cost, quality, time, value or sustainability are taken as being interrelated. The latest Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work and the New Rules of Measurement for Early Stage Estimating and Cost Planning issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have been incorporated into this new text. The book follows the building design cost planning process from the crucial inception stages and then through all the design stages to the completion of the technical design, contract documentation and the tender. It provides a template for good cost planning practice. An essential addition to this third edition is the introduction of integrated design and documentation processes captured in building Information modelling (BIM), on-line cost databases and computerised methods of cost planning. The integrated approaches are explained and provide vital information and knowledge for practitioners involved in building projects. All stakeholders involved in development and design and client teams in public and private sector policy making and implementation need to understand the new approaches to design management processes and how cost planning and design approaches are adapting to using the new technology in practice. The interactive style, using in-text and review questions makes this ideal for students and practitioners alike in property, architecture, construction economics, construction management, real estate, engineering, facilities management and project management.
Construction Law and Management explains the state of design information appropriate to a given procurement route, and the need to identify risks and strategies for managing them. This handy desk side reference offers a comprehensive guide to construction law and management and is essential reading for anyone in the construction, architecture and engineering industries.
Construction is one of the largest and most people-intensive industrial sectors. In many countries, however, construction is also one of the most highly criticized in terms of its employment practices and industrial relations. People and culture are too often seen as variables that must be manipulated in the cause of improved productivity. This important new work provides an essential corrective to the current literature by focusing on people and culture rather than sector efficiency. It presents the latest thinking from a diversity of perspectives derived from a major ESRC seminar series and invited contributions from leading researchers. Its interdisciplinary approach draws together industry and research and is international in its relevance. Through several multidisciplinary themes, People and Culture in Construction: explores the industry's labour market and the major influences on employment patterns examines how to improve the image and reality of the construction sector as an employer looks at the forces shaping the industry and implications for its stability considers the current composition of the workforce and the potential impacts of workforce diversification analyzes the impact of government targets and policies on construction working practices and culture investigates how to address the skills shortfall currently affecting the industry's performance.
Construction Economics provides students with the principles underlying the relationship between economic theory and the construction industry. Its new approach specifically examines the problems of securing sustainable construction and this fifth edition broadens the message to address the immediacy of the problems relating to the carbon-based world that we have constructed. Embracing the whole process of the construction life cycle, the new edition discusses the economic impact of the Covid pandemic on the industry and the broader implications of the promise to build back better. It also includes new coverage of the opportunities offered by technology, the establishment of higher standards to achieve greater energy efficiency and wellbeing, the adoption of the principles of a circular economy, the retrofit of existing buildings and the recycling of materials. New sections also highlight the methodology of the subject to identify the boundaries of construction economics and clarify what to expect and what can be achieved. As with previous editions, it retains a tried and tested format including: a clear and user-friendly style use of colour for emphasis regular summaries of key points a glossary of key terms extensive use of tables, figures and data readings from Construction Management and Economics tutorial questions to review each section research guidance reviews of useful websites. This invaluable textbook is essential reading across a wide range of disciplines. It provides the economic context to the relevance of sustainability and debates about climate change, highlighting the vital contributions that surveyors, contractors, project managers, engineers, architects and developers can offer to take it forward.
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.
Through the emerging lens of social enterprise, this book examines how the global construction industry can engage more effectively with the communities in which it builds, addressing disadvantage and environmental degradation to leave a positive legacy for future generations. Combining insights from leading research and real-life case studies of social enterprise in the construction sector, the result is a practical framework which will help social enterprises, clients, consultants and construction firms work collectively to build a thriving social enterprise sector. Readers of this timely book will learn to embrace social enterprise and an important new sector in the global construction industry. They will learn to see community involvement as an opportunity rather than a risk, and fully understand the broader role they can play in building a fairer and more sustainable society. |
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