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.

This is a comprehensive book on infrastructure development and construction management. It is written keeping in mind the curricula of construction management programmes in India and abroad. It covers infrastructure development, the construction industry in India, financial analysis of the real estate industry in India, economic analysis of projects, tendering and bidding, contracts and contract management, FIDIC conditions of contract, construction disputes and claims, arbitration, conciliation and dispute resolution, international construction project exports and identifying, analysing and managing construction project risk. Thus, this book covers most of the construction management activities that are carried out at different stages of a construction project. This is an essential book for students of construction management, construction professionals, academicians and researchers.

This scholarly and well-researched study of the building industry documents the interplay of new materials and technologies, costs and the changing social and economic forces that affected the decision-making about our built environment over the last two centuries. The author provides a succinct and readable survey of the growth and development of British building which will be of interest to all building specialists and those training for a career in the construction industry.

Risk avoidance has to be addressed not only at the outset of any building project but throughout its lifespan and by all parties involved in the contract. This book covers each stage of the construction process in turn and examines potential problem areas from the point of view of each of the three main parties involved: employer, consultant and contractor. By a thorough examination of each topic covered, using checklists, suggested agendas, briefing notes, risk assessment charts etc., the author has provided: a practical guide on how to react to many difficult situations which arise; strong focus on risk avoidance techniques and how to apply them; a balanced approach, looking at problems from all sides to promote understanding of adversaries' viewpoints. The sound advice presented will help avoid the risk of problems escalating and leading to litigation; in the cases that do end up at arbitration or in court, the book will familiarise the reader with the procedures involved in dispute resolution so that they can participate with confidence.

Identifies and appraises public and private finance and investment mechanisms that deliver sustainable infrastructure investment globally, nationally and regionally Infrastructure investment will grow in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic as governments seek to stimulate their economies

Several international and European institutions have given increasing importance to sustainable approaches to our existing building stock and the role of built heritage in this process. At the same time, preventive and planned conservation of built heritage has been increasingly recognised by researchers given its cost-effectiveness for owner-managers, effective long-term quality protection and environmental enhancement of structures, as well as its potential of activating heritage in the employment sector and empowering of local communities. 'Innovative Built Heritage Models' collects the lectures presented at the international conference on CHANGES (2017 Thematic Week, Leuven, Belgium, 6-8 February 2017). The aim of the conference was to provide an international overview of the existing strategies, processes and operational case studies that support the implementation of a preventive and planned conservation approach in the built heritage sector. The conference twins with the 'CHANGES' project, supported by the Joint Programming Initiative Heritage Plus programme. This publication meets the increasing demand for shared information to support the transition towards a more sustainable conservation process. The volume consists of three main parts: 'The CHANGES paradigm', 'Preventive and planned conservation' and 'Case studies of Change'. The book reflects on CHANGES in a straightforward manner by providing research and case studies that serve as baseline records, guidance and essential literature for researchers and practitioners involved in the built heritage sector.

Human Resources Management in Construction fills an important gap in current management literature by applying general principles of human resources management specifically to the construction industry. It discusses and explores findings from research to supplement the theoretical and practical procedures used. It explores issues such as the technology used and the pattern of social and political relationships within which people are managed.

Partnering is the most effective way of tackling construction projects. This book explains how clients and construction firms using partnering can achieve ever higher levels of efficiency and certainty to provide world class buildings and infrastructure of all kinds.Detailed guidance about the actions that clients and professionals new to partnering need to take is given followed by advice about the actions individual firms can take to get the maximum benefits from partnering. Finally the book describes how highly developed forms of partnering are developing into strategic collaborative working that turns construction into a genuinely modern industry able to meet all customers needs. The book is designed to be used flexibly by a variety of readers, with coloured sections and executive summaries built into the body of the text to enable senior managers to get a quick overview of the guidance provided. The detailed guidance provides those at the workface with the ammunition needed to cooperate with those around them in doing their best work. The guidance is supported by check lists that help ensure everyone involved knows what they need to do to match and then exceed today's best practice. Construction clients will learn how to get high quality, reliable and fast completion and a firm price that represents best value for money.This book helps everyone in the construction industry be fairly rewarded for delivering best practice. The expert guidance also gives the construction industry the time and resources needed to give proper attention to all aspects of quality including sustainability and total life cycle costs.to match and then exceed today's best practice.

Law for Project Managers provides an easily understandable and practical guide to the laws of contract, liability, intellectual property and so on, entirely from the perspective of the project manager. It will enable you to approach projects forewarned and forearmed, able to avoid potential legal problems altogether. The book covers everything from intellectual property disputes with the client organisation about who actually 'owns' the outcome, to confusion arising during an international project from the different legal systems and their approach to contracts and health and safety problems in the management of contractors. Most importantly, it explains everything in very straightforward terms; legal jargon is either avoided altogether or defined with its relevance to the project manager explained. In essence, Law for Project Managers is a clear, readable and expert guide on this and many other important legal matters for the practising project manager as well as a supplementary text for post- or undergraduate students studying the commercial aspects of law, contracting and project management.

Built environment professionals considering whether to embark on the design and construction or retrofit of a fully 'sustainable' or 'green' build need to know the financial implications of their decisions. What are their financial options? What are the risks? This book offers practical guidance on how sustainable building projects are financed, designed and built. All too often sustainable building is undertaken without proper consideration of the true lifecycle cost, risk and financial impact. This book will take the reader on a journey from initial sustainable design through to final completion highlighting the finance options available to them. New Financial Strategies for Sustainable Buildings provides key guidance to a variety of professionals, including architects, designers, contractors, construction managers, investors and other interested parties, whilst providing a useful reference to students on architecture, construction management and real estate/surveying courses who need to know about finance, construction economics, and sustainable development projects.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a global phenomenon which is gaining significant momentum across the world. Currently there is little information on how to realise and monitor benefits from implementing BIM across the life-cycle of a built environment asset. This book provides a practical and strategic framework to realise value from implementing BIM by adapting Benefit Realisation Management theory. It presents an approach for practitioners aiming to implement BIM across the life-cycle of built environment assets, including both buildings and infrastructure. Additionally, the book features: wide-ranging information about BIM, the challenges of monitoring progress towards benefit goals and the greater context of implementation; a set of dictionaries that illustrate: how benefits can be achieved, what the benefit flows are and the enabling tools and processes that contribute to achieving and maximising them; a suite of measures that can serve to monitor progress with examples of how they have been used to measure benefits from BIM; real-world examples from across the world and life-cycle phases that show how these benefits can be achieved; and information on international maturity and competency measures to complement the value realisation framework. Including a blend of academic and industry input, this book has been developed in close collaborative consultation with industry, government and international research organisations and could be used for industry courses on BIM benefits and implementation for asset management or by universities that teach BIM-related courses.

Valuing People in Construction provides contemporary perspectives on the 'glue' that binds the construction process together; people. The book addresses people issues in the construction industry where behavioural outcomes impact upon business and project performance. The main proposition of the book is that as people continue to lead the completion of construction activities, their health, safety, and well-being should be seen as a priority, and valued by stakeholders. As employers and employees, the role of people in construction must be to strive for the improvement of individual lives and society. This edited collection, which is the first book to focus specifically on placing value on people in construction, focuses on people at work, gender at work, conditions at work, and respect at work. In addition to an editorial overview, the book presents tested and refined empirical work and case studies by leading construction researchers from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Essential reading for researchers, students and professionals interested in construction management, the sociology of construction, HRM in construction, gender, work and health studies.

Law for Project Managers provides an easily understandable and practical guide to the laws of contract, liability, intellectual property and so on, entirely from the perspective of the project manager. It will enable you to approach projects forewarned and forearmed, able to avoid potential legal problems altogether. The book covers everything from intellectual property disputes with the client organisation about who actually 'owns' the outcome, to confusion arising during an international project from the different legal systems and their approach to contracts and health and safety problems in the management of contractors. Most importantly, it explains everything in very straightforward terms; legal jargon is either avoided altogether or defined with its relevance to the project manager explained. In essence, Law for Project Managers is a clear, readable and expert guide on this and many other important legal matters for the practising project manager as well as a supplementary text for post- or undergraduate students studying the commercial aspects of law, contracting and project management.

This book describes all the principal methods of arranging letting building contracts for conservation work. It also covers contractor selection, the use of directly employed labour, and contractual considerations.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203223292

Ensure successful construction projects through effective project scheduling and control The success of a construction project is dependent on a schedule that is well-defined yet flexible to allow for inevitable delays or changes. Without an effective schedule, projects often run over budget and deadlines are missed which can jeopardize the success of the project. The updated Construction Project Scheduling and Control, Fourth Edition is a comprehensive guide that examines the analytical methods used to devise an efficient and successful schedule for construction projects of all sizes. This Fourth Edition describes the tools and methods that make projects run smoothly, with invaluable information from a noted career construction professional. Construction Project Scheduling and Control, Fourth Edition offers construction professionals a redefined Critical Path Method (CPM) and updated information on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and how it impacts project control. This Fourth Edition includes worked problems and scheduling software exercises that help students and practicing professionals apply critical thinking to issues in construction scheduling. This updated edition of Construction Project Scheduling and Control - Includes a revised chapter on the Critical Path Method (CPM) and an all-new chapter on project scheduling and control as viewed through the owner's perspective - Provides numerous worked problems and construction scheduling exercises - Includes an expanded glossary and list of acronyms - Offers updated instructor materials including PowerPoint lecture slides and an instructor's manual Written for undergraduate and graduate students in construction management, civil engineering, and architecture, as well as practicing construction management professionals, Construction Project Scheduling and Control, Fourth Edition is updated to reflect the latest practices in the field.

As a consequence of so much construction work being carried out on or near highways, contractors ignore at their peril the law of highways and the influence it has, or should have, on their working methods and practices. Some knowledge of the law relating to highways is essential to anyone involved in the construction process, including the architect, engineer or surveyor advising a client as to what is possible and the contractor actually carrying out the contract works. By avoiding legal language, this book aims to provide practical guidance from maintenance and improvements to activities related to construction work on or near highways.

Construction Contract Administration for Project Owners is aimed at public and private owners of real estate and construction projects. The book is intended to assist owners in their contractual dealings with their designers and their contractors. Most owners are not primarily in the business of designing and building facilities. The fact that their primary business is not design and construction places them at a disadvantage when negotiating, drafting, and administering design agreements and construction contracts because their designers and contractors use these documents every day. This book is intended to assist owners to redress this imbalance by equipping owners to draft and administer contracts so as to protect their interests. The book is aimed at owner personnel with all levels of knowledge in the business of managing projects. It can serve as a comprehensive introduction to drafting and administering design agreements and construction contracts for beginners. For intermediate level personnel, it can serve as a manual to be read to enhance the reader's skills in this area. For the sophisticated project management professional, it can serve as a resource to be consulted in connection with very specific issues as they arise on a project.

This book, first published in 1987, outlines the motives and methods of overseas operations by international contractors. Drawing on an economic analysis of the industry and on elements of international investment and production theory the book discusses the problems of both individual enterprises and the major nationality groups in the industry

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 by providing customers with the levels of value and quality they now demand.

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.

Construction Project Administration in Practice provides a practical guide to the administration of construction projects, from inception to completion. It is intended to give an overall view of the construction process, its problems, risk and uncertainties in one volume. Drawing on his experience both as a lecturer and a quantity surveyor the author takes the reader stage by stage through the entire construction process to show how the project should progress to a successful conclusion.

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; Wingardh 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.

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.