This is the first book to place continuous improvement at the heart of construction cost management Covers theoretical background, before presenting real practical tools to improve construction costs Includes international case studies

All the cost data you need to keep your estimating accurate, competitive and profitable.
Do you work on jobs between 50 and 50,000? Then this book is for you.
Specially written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, Spon's Estimating Cost Guide to Electrical Works provides accurate information on thousands of rates, each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit for residential, retail and light industrial premises. It is the first book to include typical project costs for new installations, stripping out, rewiring and upgrading for flats and houses.
In addition, vital information and advice is given on setting up and running a business, employing staff, tax, VAT and CIS4s.
For the cost of approximately two hours of your charge-out rate (or less), this book will help you to:

• produce estimates faster
• keep your estimates accurate and competitive
• run your business more effectively
• save time.

Most up to date textbook dedicated to profiling the global construction industry Contains global case studies and teaching features

Practical Management for the Digital Age is an innovative introductory management textbook that shows the sweeping impact of information technology on the business world. At the same time, it addresses the pressing issue of how environmental aspects are interwoven with management decisions. This book forms an academically rigorous, accurate, and accessible first exposure to a topic that often challenges novices with competing definitions, inconsistent use of terminology, methodological variety, and conceptual fuzziness. It has been written for readers with little or no prior knowledge of management and is compact enough to be read cover-to-cover over the course of a semester. Features of this book: Provides a broad, self-contained treatment of management for those without prior knowledge of management or commerce, emphasizing core ideas that every manager should know. Establishes the context of modern management by characterizing the nature of the private enterprise, the economic theory of the firm, the economics of digitalization and automation, processes of innovation, and life cycle thinking. Introduces readers to various activities of managing, including business modeling, new business formation, operations management, managing people, marketing, and the management of quality and risk. Provides practical introductions to broadly applied management techniques, including financial planning, financial analysis, evaluating flows of money, and planning and monitoring projects. This book is aimed at a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate students in a variety of disciplines, as well as practitioners. It will be especially useful to those in the fields of engineering, science, computer science, medicine, pharmacy, social sciences, and more. It will help student readers engage confidently with project work in the final parts of their degree courses and, most importantly, with managerial situations later in their careers. For instructors, who may not have a management background, this book offers content for a self-contained year-long course in management at the intermediate undergraduate level. In addition, it has been developed for undergraduate and postgraduate courses with accreditation requirements that include a taught element in management, such as the UK Engineering Council's Accreditation of Higher Education (AHEP) framework.

* Focus on seven critical, fast-paced industries where innovation capability is essential * Written by two prominent thought leaders with 50 years of combined experience working with hundreds of companies across industries * Provides templates to immediately put the book's frameworks in place to develop an organization's innovation plan

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.

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.

The construction industry is currently experiencing accelerating developments concerning societal demands along with project complexity, internationalization and digitalization. In an attempt to grasp the consequences of these demands on productivity and innovation, this edited book addresses how innovation is likely to take place with a more long-term perspective on the construction sector. While existing literature focuses on organizational discontinuity and fragmentation as the main reasons for the apparent lack of innovation in the industry, this book highlights the connectivity of construction actors, resources and activities as fundamental for understanding how innovation takes place.Through 15 empirically grounded chapters, the book shows how innovation is part of construction processes on various levels, including project, firm and industry, and that these innovation processes are characterized by organizational and technological connectivity over time. Written by European business management scholars, the chapters cover empirical cases and examples from both a multi-organizational and a multi-international perspective in terms of covering the viewpoints of different industry actors and the contexts of several different European countries including: Sweden, Norway, the UK, Italy, France, Hungary and Poland. By illustrating how connectivity is part of innovation processes in the creation of single-product innovations, of various innovations within and across projects, as well as a fundamental aspect of the processes in which innovations cross nations, the book provides a new angle on how to understand construction innovation and where the industry might (or needs to) be heading next. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in construction management, project management, engineering management, innovation studies, business and management studies.

The construction industry is a microcosm of the economy as a whole, and as such the economics of the sector contains many of the aspects of the economy in general, albeit with fascinating and unique features. What are the implications of economic theory for the future of UK construction? How does the industry ensure innovation, quality and efficiency? What priorities might best serve the construction industry, those working in it and their customers? In seeking answers to these and other questions, the UK government has commissioned a number of reports on the construction industry including the Latham and Egan reports and more recently Construction 2025. These have invariably proposed time and cost targets for the construction industry. In this new book, Stephen Gruneberg stands in stark contrast to those reports and presents the relevant theoretical aspects of construction economics to account for the behaviour of construction firms and suggest a strategy for future growth and sustainability. He discusses the theory and data relating to the output of firms in relation to the type of firm, the market and how these firms behave as a result. The purpose of this book is to advocate the measures needed to create the kind of industry that must be fostered to ensure the quality of its output, sustainability and the fair terms and conditions of employment for its workforce. Gruneberg's new book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the economic forces that determine industry outcomes and who has a stake in the success of the UK construction sector.

First useful book for professionals to be published in the wake of the Grenfell Fire Reforms will bring in much change to the industry and construction professionals will need guidance

First useful book for professionals to be published in the wake of the Grenfell Fire Reforms will bring in much change to the industry and construction professionals will need guidance

The construction industry is vital to any national economy; it is also one of the industries most susceptible to workplace incidents. The unacceptably high rates of incidents in construction have huge socio-economic consequences for the victims, their families and friends, co-workers, employers and society at large. Construction safety researchers have introduced numerous strategies, models and tools through scientific inquiries involving primary data collection and analyses. While these efforts are commendable, there is a huge potential to create new knowledge and predictive models to improve construction safety by utilising already existing data about workplace incidents. In this new book, Imriyas Kamardeen argues that more sophisticated approaches need to be deployed to enable improved analyses of incident data sets and the extraction of more valuable insights, patterns and knowledge to prevent work injuries and illnesses. The book aims to apply data mining and analytic techniques to past workplace incident data to discover patterns that facilitate the development of innovative models and strategies, thereby improving work health, safety and well-being in construction, and curtailing the high rate of incidents. It is essential reading for researchers and professionals in construction, health and safety and anyone interested in data analytics.

Claims involving disruption are commonly accepted to be the most difficult to quantify. Disruptions that occur during a working day can lead to productivity loss which, in turn, can lead to time and cost overruns. The solution proposed in this book integrates cost and time in order to develop a site labour productivity measurement system whereby claims involving disruption can be objectively and automatically quantified.

The aim of this book is to provide a single source of information to support continuing professional development (CPD) in the built environment sector. The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the concept of CPD and provides robust guidance on the methods and benefits of identifying, planning, monitoring, actioning, and recording CPD activities. It brings together theories, standards, professional and industry requirements, and contemporary arguments around individual personal and professional development. Practical techniques and real-life best practice examples outlined from within and outside of the industry empower the reader to take control of their own built environment-related development, whilst also providing information on how to develop fellow staff members. The contents covered in this book align with the requirements of numerous professional bodies, such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), and the Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB). The chapters are supported by case studies, templates, practical advice, and guidance. The book is designed to help all current and future built environment professionals manage their own CPD as well as managing the CPD of others. This includes helping undergraduate and postgraduate students complete CPD requirements for modules as part of a wide range of built environment university degree courses and current built environment professionals of all levels and disciplines who wish to enhance their careers through personal and professional development, whether due to professional body requirements or by taking control of identifying and achieving their own educational needs.

Construction Cost Estimating equips a new generation of students and early-career professionals with the skills they need to bid successfully on projects. From developing bid strategies to submitting a completed bid, this innovative textbook introduces the fundamentals of construction estimating through a real-life case study that unfolds across its 24 chapters. Exercises at the end of each chapter offer hands-on practice with core concepts such as quantity take-offs, pricing, and estimating for subcontractor work. Online resources provide instant access to examples of authentic construction documents, including complete, detailed direct work estimates, subcontractor work estimates, general conditions estimates, markups, and summary schedules. Through its unique mix of real-world examples and classroom-tested insights, Construction Cost Estimating ensures that readers are familiar with the entire estimating process even before setting foot on the jobsite.

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.

This book explores China's global competitiveness in the building of infrastructures with a particular interest in the resource-rich African countries. The book begins with a comprehensive literature review on total quality management (TQM) and national culture, followed by reviews of the construction industries in China and Nigeria. This provides better understanding of the linkages between TQM, based on the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9000 quality management systems (QMS), and national culture, based on Emeritus Professor Geert Hofstede's national cultural dimensions. Premised on the culture-specificity and bi-directionality relationships between TQM and national culture, this book investigates the construction industries in China and Nigeria including their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) as well as an appraisal of their historical and emerging relationships. In its conceptual approach, this book presents different models in the lead up to its primary theoretical contribution of a quality management assessment model (QMAM) that was adopted during the study's field work. The book also presents relevant lessons relating to cross cultural management and quality performance not only to the Nigerians but also other foreign players in Nigeria's construction industry.

The need for a skilled, motivated and effective workforce is fundamental to the creation of the built environment across the world. Known in so many places for a tendency to informal and casual working practices, for the sometimes abusive use of migrant labor, for gendered male employment and for a neglect of the essentials of health and safety, the industry, its managers and its workforce face multiple challenges. This book brings an international lens to address those challenges, looking particularly at the diverse ways in which answers have been found to manage safe and productive employment practices and effective employment relations within the framework of client demands for timely and cost-effective project completions. Whilst context, history and contractual frameworks may all militate against a careful attention to human resource issues this makes them even more deserving of attention. Work and Labor Relations in Construction aims to share understanding of best practice in the industries associated with construction and related activities, recognizing that effective work organization and good standards of employee relations will vary from one location to another. It acknowledges the real difficulties encountered by workers in parts of the developing world and the quest for improvement and awareness of some of the worst hazards and current practices. This book is both critical and analytical in approach and seeks to alert readers to the need for change. Aimed at addressing practical issues within the construction industry from a theoretical and empirical standpoint, it will be of value to those interested in the built environment, employment relations and human resource management.

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

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.

In an increasingly globalised built environment industry, achieving higher levels of integration across organisational and software boundaries can lead to improved economic, social and environmental outcomes. This book is the direct result of a collaborative global network of industry and academic researchers spread across nine countries as part of CIB's (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction) Task Group 90 (TG90) Information Integration in Construction (IICON). The book provides a broad view of some of the opportunities and challenges brought by integrating information across organisational and system boundaries in the built environment industry. Chapters cover a large range of topics and are separated into three sections: resources, processes and added value. They provide a much-needed international perspective on a current global evolution in the industry and present leading original research and valuable lessons for researchers, industry practitioners, government clients and policy makers across the industry. Key features include: a broad range of topics that are not covered elsewhere in the literature; contributions from a diverse group of industry research leaders from across the globe; exemplar case studies providing real-world examples of where information integration has been a key factor for success or lack thereof has been at the root cause of failure; an analysis of future priority areas for research and development investment as well as their strategic implications for public and private decision-makers; the book will deliver innovation in best practice methodology for information sharing across disciplines and between the design, construction and asset management sectors.

This fully revised and updated edition of Construction Contracts: Questions and Answers includes 300 questions and incorporates 42 new judicial decisions, the JCT 2016 updates and the RIBA Building Contracts and Professional Services Contracts 2018 updates. Construction professionals of all kinds frequently need legal advice that is straightforward as well as authoritative and legally rigorous. Building on the success of previous editions, David Chappell continues to provide answers to real-world FAQs from his experience as consultant and Specialist Advisor to the RIBA. Questions range in content from extensions of time, liquidated damages and loss and/or expense to issues of practical completion, defects, valuation, certificates and payment, architects' instructions, adjudication and fees. Every question included has been asked of David Chappell during his career and his answers are authoritative but written as briefly and simply as possible. Legal language is avoided but legal cases are given to enable anyone interested to read more deeply into the reasoning behind the answers. This is not only a useful reference for architects, project managers, quantity surveyors and lawyers, but also a useful student resource to stimulate interesting discussions about real-world construction contract issues.

This book examines complex challenges in managing major strategic economic and social infrastructure projects. It is divided into four primary themes: value-based approach to infrastructure systems appraisal, enabling planning and execution, financing and contracting strategies for infrastructure systems and digitising major infrastructure delivery. Within these four themes, the chapters of the book cover: the value and benefits of infrastructure projects planning for resilient major infrastructure projects sustainable major infrastructure development and management, including during mega events improving infrastructure project financing stakeholder engagement and multi-partner collaborations delivering major infrastructure projects effectively and efficiently whole-life-cycle performance, operations and maintenance relationship risks on major infrastructure projects public-private partnerships, design thinking principles, and innovation and technology. By drawing on insights from their research, the editors and contributors bring a fresh perspective to the transformation of major strategic infrastructure projects. This text is designed to help policymakers and investors select and prioritise their infrastructure needs beyond the constraining logic of political cycles. It offers a practical set of recommendations for governments on attracting private capital for infrastructure projects while creating clear social and economic value for their citizens. Through theoretical underpinning, empirical data and in-depth informative global case studies, the book presents an essential resource for students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in all aspects of strategic infrastructure planning, project management, construction management, engineering and business management.