Re-valuing construction through project delivery

In moving from lowest cost adversarial based traditional procurement towards value driven methodologies the challenges range from re-engineering the process, to metrics and team alignment. This paper describes research into methodologies which encourage alignment of project partners towards achieving mutually beneficial goals. The research identifies nine variables which influence the achievement of successful projects delivering value. Results from case studies illustrate that not all parties can achieve value for themselves which directs attention to the balance between deliverables and the interests of team members. Re- valuing construction demands refocusing towards the delivery of operational assets and their place in the value system whilst recognising the need to manage the delivery process and the team to align the value to the parties. The objective of the project was to develop tools and recommendations for reform of project delivery in the building and construction industry to transform business-as-usual performance into exceptional performance. Benefits flow not only to the construction industry, but to the community as a whole because a more sophisticated industry can deliver more effective use of assets, financing, operating and maintenance of facilities to suit the community’s needs. This research was funded by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation.

The journey to delivered value in Australian procurement

In line with developments overseas Australian clients are turning to considerations of value in project procurement. Until the 1980s the industry operated in a largely traditional manner however the extremely adversarial behaviour exhibited during towards the end of the decade led to a number of significant events and initiatives including the publication of “No Dispute”, the Gyles Royal Commission into the Building Industry, the Construction Industry Development Agency (CIDA) and the work of the Australian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC). A number of research projects in progress in the CRC for Construction Innovation (CRC CI) are focussing on the assessment of value and methodologies to support the delivery of value in the procurement and management of engineering and construction projects. This paper charts the emergence of several key drivers in the process and illustrates how they can be integrated into a comprehensive Decision Support System that balances value to stakeholders with project imperatives and incorporates a lessons learned data base which enriches the decision making process to optimise delivery method design and selection.

Achieving value alignment in project delivery

A study into best practice project delivery and the development of a suite of products, resources and services to help guide clients and project teams towards the best approach for specific projects.

Industry Partners

AIMM stands for 'Agents for Improved Maintenance Management.' The AIMM system is a prototype tool that has developed the state of the art life cycle modelling of buildings through the linking of a 3D model with maintenance data to allow both the facility manager and the designer to gain access to building maintenance information and knowledge that is currently inaccessible. AIMM integrates data mining agents into the maintenance process to produce timely data for the facility manager on the effects of different maintenance regimes.

Supporting ICT diffusion in Australian construction organisations

Construction organisations comprise geographically dispersed virtually-linked suborganisations that work together to realise projects. They increasingly do so using information and communication technology (ICT) to communicate, coordinate their activities and to solve complex problems. One salient problem they face is how to effectively use requisite ICT tools. One important tool at their disposal is the self-help group, a body of people that organically spring up to solve shared problems. The more recognised term for this organisational form is a community of practice (COP). COPs generate knowledge networks that enhance and sustain competitive advantage and they are also used to help COP members actually use ICT tools. Etienne Wenger defines communities of practice as “groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise” (Wenger and Snyder 2000, p139). This ‘chicken-or-egg’ issue about needing a COP to use the tools that are needed to effective broaden COPs (beyond co-located these groups) led us to explore how best to improve the process of ICT diffusion through construction organisations— primarily using people supported by technology that improves knowledge sharing. We present insights gained from recent PhD research results in this area. A semistructured interview approach was used to collect data from ICT strategists and users in the three large Australian construction organisations that are among the 10 or so first tier companies by annual dollar turnover in Australia. The interviewees were categorised into five organisational levels: IT strategist, implementer, project or engineering manager, site engineer and foreman. The focus of the study was on the organisation and the way that it implements ICT diffusion of a groupware ICT diffusion initiative. Several types of COP networks from the three Australian cases are identified: withinorganisation COP; institutional, implementer or technical support; project manager/engineer focussed; and collegial support. Also, there are cross-organisational COPs that organically emerge as a result of people sharing an interest or experience in something significant. Firstly, an institutional network is defined as a strategic group, interested in development of technology innovation within an organisation. This COP principally links business process domain experts with an ICT strategist.

Factors affecting ICT diffusion in Australian construction organisations – the storey from the big end

Our survey findings confirm that 11 factors influence information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion for experienced ICT users. We offer a model that consists of 4 groups of categories: management (M); individual (I); technology (T); and environment (E). Our conclusions reinforce the importance of a coherent ICT diffusion strategy and supportive environment. This requires substantial investment in training and collegial learning support mechanisms. This paper provides an overview of the work undertaken and an analysis of its implications for the construction industry and we provide useful insights that a wide range of construction industry professionals and contractors may find useful.

Project learning through project histories

Many people and organisations continually repeat mistakes or fail to take advantage of opportunities because they have not learned from their past history, frequently as a result of not having taken the time to reflect and take stock of their experiences. This common error is avoidable, particularly with today’s capacity for information and communication technology (ICT) to enable organisations to not only record lessons learned but to easily make these available throughout an organisation. Moreover, the evidence of the literature and experience suggests that currently companies do not rigorously analyse past experience and log lessons learned using manual methods so it is hardly surprising that this trend is not changed by the availability of ICT.

Best Practice Guide : Clients

The Guide contains the distilled findings from a major, two-year research project to explore those factors considered by industry practitioners to be critical to the successful adoption of ICT, both within their firms and between their firms and their trading partners. In the context of this project Critical Success Factors (CSFs) have been defined as, “Those things that absolutely, positively must be attended to in order to maximise the likelihood of a successful outcome for the stakeholder, defined in the stakeholder’s terms.” The guide includes: o Perceived benefits of ICT use across the head contractors’ sector o Types and levels of ICT used across the sector o Self-assessment tool o CSFs for high-level ICT users, including o Best Practice Profiles o Action Statements The material contained in this Guide has been generated following a number of principles: o For a given situation there is not a single ‘right answer’, but a number of solutions that have to be evaluated using a range of relevant factors. o Since there are as many solutions as there are ‘solvers’, factors for evaluation will ‘emerge’ from collective wisdom.

Best Practice Guide : Consultants

The Guide contains the distilled findings from a major, two-year research project to explore those factors considered by industry practitioners to be critical to the successful adoption of ICT, both within their firms and between their firms and their trading partners. In the context of this project Critical Success Factors (CSFs) have been defined as, “Those things that absolutely, positively must be attended to in order to maximise the likelihood of a successful outcome for the stakeholder, defined in the stakeholder’s terms.” The guide includes: o Perceived benefits of ICT use across the consultants’ sector o Types and levels of ICT used across the sector o Self-assessment tool o CSFs for medium- and high-level ICT users, including o Best Practice Profiles o Action Statements o Barriers to ICT use for low-level users o Action Statements The material contained in this Guide has been generated following a number of principles: o For a given situation there is not a single ‘right answer’, but a number of solutions that have to be evaluated using a range of relevant factors. o As there are as many solutions as there are ‘solvers’, factors for evaluation will ‘emerge’ from collective wisdom.

Best Practice Guide : Head Contractors

The Guide contains the distilled findings from a major, two-year research project to explore those factors considered by industry practitioners to be critical to the successful adoption of ICT, both within their firms and between their firms and their trading partners. In the context of this project Critical Success Factors (CSFs) have been defined as, “Those things that absolutely, positively must be attended to in order to maximise the likelihood of a successful outcome for the stakeholder, defined in the stakeholder’s terms.” The guide includes: o Perceived benefits of ICT use across the head contractors’ sector o Types and levels of ICT used across the sector o Self-assessment tool o CSFs for medium- and high-level ICT users, including o Best Practice Profiles o Action Statements The material contained in this Guide has been generated following a number of principles: o For a given situation there is not a single ‘right answer’, but a number of solutions that have to be evaluated using a range of relevant factors. o Since there are as many solutions as there are ‘solvers’, factors for evaluation will ‘emerge’ from collective wisdom.

Best Practice Guide : Subcontractors

The Guide contains the distilled findings from a major, two-year research project to explore those factors considered by industry practitioners to be critical to the successful adoption of ICT, both within their firms and between their firms and their trading partners. In the context of this project Critical Success Factors (CSFs) have been defined as, “Those things that absolutely, positively must be attended to in order to maximise the likelihood of a successful outcome for the stakeholder, defined in the stakeholder’s terms.” The guide includes: o Perceived benefits of ICT use across the subcontractors’ sector o Types and levels of ICT used across the sector o Self-assessment tool o CSFs for medium- and high-level ICT users, including o Best Practice Profiles o Action Statements o Barriers to ICT use for low-level users o Action Statements The material contained in this Guide has been generated following a number of principles: o For a given situation there is not a single ‘right answer’, but a number of solutions that have to be evaluated using a range of relevant factors. o As there are as many solutions as there are ‘solvers’, factors for evaluation will ‘emerge’ from collective wisdom.

Best Practice Guide : Generic Overview

The construction industry is a key national economic component. It tends to be at the forefront of cyclic changes in the Australian economy. It has a significant impact, both directly and indirectly, on the efficiency and productivity of other industries. Moreover it affects everyone to a greater or lesser extent; through its products whether they are manifested in the physical infrastructure that supports the operation of the economy or through the built environment that directly impacts on the quality of life experienced by individuals. In financial terms the industry makes one of the largest contributions to the Australian economy, accounting for 4.7 per cent of GDP 1 which was worth over $30B in 20012. The construction industry is comprised of a myriad of small firms, across several important sectors including, o Residential building, o Commercial building, o Building services, o Engineering, o Infrastructure o Facilities Management o Property Development Each sector is typified by firms that have distinctive characteristics such as the number of employees, size and value of contracts, number of jobs, and so forth. It tends to be the case that firms operating in commercial building are larger than those involved in residential construction. The largest contractors are found in engineering and infrastructure, as well as in the commercial building sub-sectors. However all sectors are characterised by their reliance upon sub-contractors to carry out on-site operations. Professionals from the various design consultant groups operate across all of these sectors. This description masks one of the most significant underlying causes of inefficiency in the construction industry, namely its fragmentation. The Construction Industry chapter of the 2004 Australian Year Book3, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics unmasks the industry’s fragmented structure, typified by the large number of operating businesses within it, the vast majority of which are small companies employing less than 5 people. It identifies over 190,000 firms, of which over 90 percent employ less than 5 people. At the other end of the spectrum, firms employing 20 or more people account for fractionally more than one percent of businesses in the industry.