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.

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.

This collection draws on international comparisons from the main industrialized countries in a key field - the construction industry. One only has to walk around almost any major city in the industrialized economies of the world to see how well the construction industry is doing and this study is a timely analysis of a growing field.
This genuinely internationally focused book has contributions from leading experts and academics in the sphere of construction.
This well-written, informative collection is a must-read book for advanced students, academics and professionals who are serious about the industrial economics and the construction industry.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203166132

• 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

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.

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

NEC Managing Reality: A Practical Guide to Applying NEC3 is a series of books written by NEC experts well versed in using the NEC `at the coal face' that explain how the NEC can be used to optimum benefit in everyday environments. The second edition includes full updates to each of the five books: Introduction to the engineering and construction contract; Procuring an engineering and construction contract; Managing the contract; Managing change; Managing procedures. This new edition focuses solely on NEC3, with new practical examples from across the world. Sections on disallowable cost, defects, roles/responsibilities and schedule of cost components have been expanded and enhanced.

The need for quality assurance in construction is now widely accepted. As a result, pressure is currently being applied to contractors and those offering professional services to demonstrate QA capability prior to commission. This book, written by experts in the field of quality management, shows how construction companies can effectively apply QA within their own organization. It pinpoints the real benefits to be gained from developing well-structured systems and offers practical guidance on implementation techniques. Inevitably, quality management standards play an important role in helping to define the requirements of any QA system. With this in mind the authors provide a detailed analysis of ISO 9000 - 1994 and its implementation. The text is complemented by numerous diagrams and examples and is essential reading for all construction professionals concerned with quality.

* Introduces a novel concept of Lean Construction 4.0, the amalgamation of two of the industries most talked about frameworks: Lean and Industry 4.0 * Truly global coverage and contributors at the forefront of research in the field * Growing numbers of courses and research centers dedicated to the concepts and technological applications in this book: IOT, cyber physical systems, Bi Data, Cloud Computing, VR, AI etc

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.

Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution provides a masterclass in the project and people management skills that set apart the most accomplished design and construction professionals. This textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students distils the insights gleaned over the authors' decades of experience in academia and industry into actionable principles for success in a notoriously demanding field. Combining real life case studies with original research, Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution points the way from the classroom to the jobsite. Interactive exercises allow readers to take the role of junior project managers and other emerging professionals and reason through the ethical dilemmas surrounding building projects from the initial bid to completion. Chapters on stakeholder alignment, productivity, and project success ensure that aspiring leaders' business decisions are as economically sound as they are ethically correct. From its accessible, conversational tone to the lifetime's worth of construction wisdom it shares, Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution offers an extended mentoring session with three giants of the building industry.

This book reports on the latest advances in using BIM modelling to achieve the semantic enrichment of objects, allowing them to be used both as multidimensional databases - as comprehensive sources of information for finalizing various types of documentation in the building industry - and as modelling tools for the construction of virtual environments. Having advanced to a new stage of development, BIM modelling is now being applied in a range of increasingly complex contexts, and for various new purposes. This book examines the role that virtual reality and related technologies such as AI and IoT can play in preserving and disseminating our cultural heritage and built environment.

This book explores construction digitalisation, particularly in developing countries. The book conceptualises a digitalisation capability maturity model that will enable construction organisations to self-assess and benchmark their digital capabilities in their quest for digital transformation. Digitalisation offers a significant solution to the age-long problems of the construction industry. Research shows that when construction organisations transform from a traditional service delivery approach to a more digitalised approach, significant improvement in project delivery and better competitive advantage for these organisations will be attained. The attainment of these benefits is evident in developed countries where the digitalisation of construction activities continues apace. Unfortunately, the story is not the same for construction organisations in developing economies. While some organisations might be willing to be digitally transformed, most have no clue how to go about it. To this end, this book provides guidelines for construction organisations seeking to transform their entities digitally. Its content is a valuable read for construction company owners as it provides a model which they can use in the digitalisation of their activities. Also, regulatory bodies in the construction industry can adopt the capabilities identified in the book as essential prerequisites for their members. Furthermore, the book serves as excellent theoretical background reading for management researchers seeking to expand their knowledge on the digitalisation of the construction industry and other associated industries.

This book is a wide-ranging exploration of PR and communication in the construction industry, with a strong emphasis on communications theory, strategy and technique. The editors begin with an introduction to the UK construction industry and its supply chains, as well as various elements of PR in relation to the construction process. Subsequent chapters provide a strategic overview, practical examples, success stories, case studies and personal perspectives on PR for different parts of the built environment and reputational issues in construction. Chapters include expert advice on communications for architecture, planning, building consultancy, building products and manufacturers, general and specialist contractors, construction technology, infrastructure and communicating sustainability in the built environment. The conclusion looks at the current and upcoming reputational priorities for communicators in construction, as well as the top ten priorities for implementing PR as a strategic management discipline in the industry. This book is essential reading for all construction PR teams, students studying both for built environment and PR/marketing degrees and CPD courses, and anyone working in the built environment sector who needs to consider PR and marketing as part of their role.

The quality of a product or service is a measure of its ability to satisfy customer requirements. This satisfaction can be assured by the operation of a quality system which will ensure that specified requirements are met consistently and economically. The Management of Quality in Construction provides the reader with a knowledge of the principles of quality management and an understanding of how they may successfully be applied in the particular circumstances of the construction industry. The areas covered range from an historical review of traditional methods of assuring quality in the industry and how contractual arrangements have evolved, to an interpretation of quality system standards in the context of construction. Examples are given which highlight specific areas, and specialist chapters on organization structures and the techniques of quality auditing are included.

This book focuses on Constructability, a project management tool and its effectiveness in promotion of sustainable development and architecture. Constructability concentrates on the optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, engineering, procurement and field operations to achieve overall project objectives. Keeping in view the requirement of promotion of sustainable architectural practices, the book is aimed at establishing effective relationship between constructability and sustainability, including application of the project management systems and guidelines for sustainable development, in a systematic manner. Key Features Focuses on relationship between constructability and sustainability in detail, with respect to their definitions and historical background. Summarizes formulation of recommendations and guidelines for various design and construction practices Provides an updated information database having overview of constructability studies and researches conducted so far Explores association of sustainable development to project management issues Includes relevant case studies

Profitable Partnering in Construction Procurement is a compilation of papers presented at the CIB W92 Symposium held in Chaing Mai, Thailand in January 1999. This volume, drawing on contributions from leading experts in construction contract procurement from 22 countries, addresses the issues of culture within organisations and national cultures and their impact on procurement, performance and profitability. Substantial coverage is given to private finance projects, privatised infrastructure projects, contractor selection and prequalification, decision support systems for procurement, management of design, contracts and contract documents, sustainable construction and the performance of procurement systems. Profitable Partnering in Construction Procurement is a reference for construction professionals and researchers, contract administrators and lawyers wishing to gain an understanding of the complex issues of harmony and profit in construction procurement.

The aim of the studies presented in this report is the implementation of rational concepts and testing procedures for the design and manufacture of bituminous materials for applications in pavement construction. Practical test procedures are recommended for binder evaluation, mix design and performance assessment of bituminous materials. The three main topics addressed are binder testing, mix design and mechanical testing of mixtures. Each is examined through interlaboratory tests and there is a literary review of existing practices and methods for the production of polymer modified binders, mixture design and the mechanical properties of mixtures.

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.

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

How can innovation in the construction industry be strengthened? What instruments and approaches are being used by governments to promote it? What works and under what circumstances? These key questions have profound implications. This book presents a framework for the analysis of innovation models and systems in construction and an international comparison of these systems, with a focus on their application in practical policy development.

This new textbook fills an important gap in the existing literature, in that it prepares construction engineering and built environment students for their first experience of the jobsite. This innovative book integrates conceptual and hands-on knowledge of project engineering to introduce students to the construction process and familiarize them with the procedures and activities they need to operate as project engineers during their summer internships and immediately after graduation. The textbook is structured into four sections: Section A: Introductory Concepts Section B: Field Engineering Section C: Office Engineering Section D: Advanced Project Engineering The emphasis on field tasks and case studies, questions, and exercises taken from across civil works and commercial building sectors makes this the ideal textbook for introductory to intermediate courses in Construction Engineering, Construction Engineering Technology, Civil and Architectural Engineering, and Construction Management degree programs.

Available online via SciVerse ScienceDirect, or in print for a limited time only, The "International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home" is the first international reference work for housing scholars and professionals, that uses studies in economics and finance, psychology, social policy, sociology, anthropology, geography, architecture, law, and other disciplines to create an international portrait of housing in all its facets: from meanings of home at the microscale, to impacts on macro-economy.

This comprehensive work is edited by distinguished housing expert Susan J. Smith, together with Marja Elsinga, Ong Seow Eng, Lorna Fox O'Mahony and Susan Wachter, and a multi-disciplinary editorial team of 20 world-class scholars in all. Working at the cutting edge of their subject, liaising with an expert editorial advisory board, and engaging with policy-makers and professionals, the editors have worked for almost five years to secure the quality, reach, relevance and coherence of this work. A broad and inclusive table of contents signals (or tesitifes to) detailed investigation of historical and theoretical material as well as in-depth analysis of current issues.

This seven-volume set contains over 500 entries, listed alphabetically, but grouped into seven thematic sections including methods and approaches; economics and finance; environments; home and homelessness; institutions; policy; and welfare and well-being. Housing professionals, both academics and practitioners, will find The "International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home" useful for teaching, discovery, and research needs.

International in scope, engaging with trends in every world region. The editorial board and contributors are drawn from a wide constituency, collating expertise from academics, policy makers, professionals and practitioners, and from every key center for housing research.Every entry stands alone on its merits and is accessed alphabetically, yet each is fully cross-referenced, and attached to one of seven thematic categories whose wholes' far exceed the sum of their parts.
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The tale of the Bechtel family dynasty is a classic American business story. It begins with Warren A. Bechtel, who led a consortium that constructed the Hoover Dam. From that auspicious start, the family and its eponymous company would go on to "build the world," from the construction of airports in Hong Kong and Doha, to pipelines and tunnels in Alaska and Europe, to mining and energy operations around the globe. Today Bechtel is one of the largest privately held corporations in the world, enriched and empowered by a long history of government contracts and the privatization of public works, made possible by an unprecedented revolving door between its San Francisco headquarters and Washington. Bechtel executives John McCone, Caspar Weinberger, and George P. Shultz segued from leadership at the company to positions as Director of the CIA, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State, respectively. Like all stories of empire building, the rise of Bechtel presents a complex and riveting narrative. In The Profiteers, Sally Denton, exposes Bechtel's secret world and one of the biggest business and political stories of our time.