Safety leaders’ perceptions of safety culture in a large Australasian construction organisation

This paper reports safety leaders’ perceptions of safety culture in one of Australasia’s largest construction organisations. A modified Delphi method was used including two rounds of data collection. The first round involved 41 semi-structured interviews with safety leaders within the organisation. The second round involved an online quantitative perception survey, with the same sample, aimed at confirming the key themes identified in the interviews. Participants included Senior Executives, Corporate Managers, Project Managers, Safety Managers and Site Supervisors. Interview data was analysed using qualitative thematic analysis, and the survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Leaders’ definitions and descriptions of safety culture were primarily action-oriented and some confusion was evident due to the sometimes implicit nature of culture in organisations. Leadership was identified as a key factor for positive safety culture in the organisation, and there was an emphasis on leaders demonstrating commitment to safety, and being visible to the project-based workforce. Barriers to safety culture improvement were also identified, including the subcontractor management issues, pace of change, and reporting requirements. The survey data provided a quantitative confirmation of the interview themes, with some minor discrepancies. The findings highlight that safety culture is a complex construct, which is difficult to define, even for experts in the organisation. Findings on the key factors indicated consistency with the current literature; however the perceptions of barriers to safety culture offer a new understanding in to how safety culture operates in practice.

Forecasting success on large projects : developing reliable scales to predict multiple perspectives by multiple stakeholders over multiple time frames

Our aim is to develop a set of leading performance indicators to enable managers of large projects to forecast during project execution how various stakeholders will perceive success months or even years into the operation of the output. Large projects have many stakeholders who have different objectives for the project, its output, and the business objectives they will deliver. The output of a large project may have a lifetime that lasts for years, or even decades, and ultimate impacts that go beyond its immediate operation. How different stakeholders perceive success can change with time, and so the project manager needs leading performance indicators that go beyond the traditional triple constraint to forecast how key stakeholders will perceive success months or even years later. In this article, we develop a model for project success that identifies how project stakeholders might perceive success in the months and years following a project. We identify success or failure factors that will facilitate or mitigate against achievement of those success criteria, and a set of potential leading performance indicators that forecast how stakeholders will perceive success during the life of the project's output. We conducted a scale development study with 152 managers of large projects and identified two project success factor scales and seven stakeholder satisfaction scales that can be used by project managers to predict stakeholder satisfaction on projects and so may be used by the managers of large projects for the basis of project control.

Dynamic modeling for construction innovation

Previous research on construction innovation has commonly recognized the importance of the organizational climate and key individuals, often called “champions,” for the success of innovation. However, it rarely focuses on the role of participants at the project level and addresses the dynamics of construction innovation. This paper therefore presents a dynamic innovation model that has been developed using the concept of system dynamics. The model incorporates the influence of several individual and situational factors and highlights two critical elements that drive construction innovations: (1) normative pressure created by project managers through their championing behavior, and (2) instrumental motivation of team members facilitated by a supportive organizational climate. The model is qualified empirically, using the results of a survey of project managers and their project team members working for general contractors in Singapore, by assessing casual relationships for key model variables. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the model structure for fostering construction innovations.

An informal community of practice : the case of the DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group

The DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group has an informal membership of nearly 200 members with an interest in education and virtual worlds within the Australian and New Zealand context. Members come from a variety of academic disciplines and may be teaching or research academics, Research Higher Degree candidates, project managers, virtual world builders and developers. The group acts as an informal Community of Practice, facilitating learning and the transfer of skills through social contact, opportunities to collaborate on projects and publications, and through the sharing of knowledge and experience. This poster provides a snapshot of the activity of this highly active group.

Unpacking ‘lessons learned’ : investigating failures and considering alternative solutions

One of the most common ways to share project knowledge is to capture the positive and negative aspects of projects in the form of lessons learned (LL). If effectively used, this process can assist project managers in reusing project knowledge and preventing future projects from repeating mistakes. Nevertheless, the process of capturing, storing, reviewing and reusing LL often remains suboptimal. Despite the potential for rich knowledge capture, lessons are often documented as simple, line-item statements devoid of context. Findings from an empirical investigation across four cases revealed a range of reasons related to the perceived quality, process and visibility of LL that lead to their limited use and application. Drawn from the cross-case analysis, this paper investigates an integrated approach to LL involving the use of a collaborative Web-based tool, which is easily accessible, intelligible and user-friendly, allowing more effective sharing of project knowledge and overcoming existing problems with LL.

Changing times, persistent paradigms : women and men at work in projects

The Australian economy is currently supported by a resources boom and work opportunities in traditionally male dominated fields of construction and engineering and information technology are at a premium. Yet despite more than 25 years of anti discrimination and equal employment opportunity legislation these industries still employ few women in operational or management roles. This paper investigates the issue of the low representation of women in project management and their different work and career experiences through interviews with male and female project managers.

She'll be right mate : inclusivity experiences of men and women working in projects

Occupational segregation is a major source of labour market rigidity and economic inefficiency due to a waste of human resources. Organisations are repeatedly recognised as gendered constructs exhibiting sustained work segregation, income and status inequality, as well as cultural and individual images of gender, and these are perpetuated through their processes, practices and pressures (Acker, 1990). A large percentage of Australia’s workforce is now employed in project-based or project-oriented organisations, leading to the claim that Australia is a project-based economy. For a continued strong performance in this economy, organisations that employ project personnel will need to consider how they address inclusivity and equality in diversity in project based temporary organisations to ensure the supply of high quality project professionals into the future. This paper investigates the inclusion processes experienced and exercised by men and women working in temporary organisations in project situations through a review of reports on the inclusion processes experienced by 60 project managers and project workers in three project based industries in Australia. Results indicate that temporary organisations are not implementing equality and diversity management strategies at the macro level and project workers are accepting this lack of recognition. However inclusivity and equality at the micro level of the team is seen as vital.

Exploring the effect of political risks in large infrastructure projects in politically unstable countries using a probabilistic modelling approach

This research aims to explore and identify political risks on a large infrastructure project in an exaggerated environment to ascertain whether sufficient objective information can be gathered by project managers to utilise risk modelling techniques. During the study, the author proposes a new definition of political risk; performs a detailed project study of the Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project in Pakistan; implements a probabilistic model using the principle of decomposition and Bayes probabilistic theorem and answers the question: was it possible for project managers to obtain all the relevant objective data to implement a probabilistic model?

Out of the frying pan and into the fire – forging a career in a temporary workplace : a new perspective for HR?

Recent literature acknowledges the need for new career development models to support the way that careers evolve in the 21st century workplace (Bloch 2005). This is particularly so within temporary organisation forms, and for those pursuing a career in project management (Hölzle 2010). Our research, explores how project managers working on projects and within temporary organisation forms and those working on project-linked contracts access the development opportunities they require to remain employable in an era of project-by-project employment. Set in Australia where a project-based economy (Crawford, French and Lloyd-Walker 2013) and contract work have led to casualisation of the workforce (Connell & Burgess, 2006; McKeown & Hanley (2009) the results suggest new approaches to career development may be required.

Learning to lead: The development and testing of a model of leadership learning

Drawing upon an action learning perspective, we hypothesized that a leader’s learning of project leadership skills would be related to facilitative leadership, team reflexivity, and team performance. Secondly, we proposed that new and experienced leaders would differ in the amount they learn from their current and recent experience as project managers, and in the strength of the relationship between their self-reported learning, facilitative leadership, and team reflexivity. We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study of 50 R&D teams, led by 25 new and 25 experienced leaders, with 313 team members and 22 project customers, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. We found evidence of a significant impact of the leader’s learning on subsequent facilitative leadership and team performance 8 and 12 months later, suggesting a lag between learning leadership skills and translating these skills into leadership behavior. The findings contribute to an understanding of how leaders consolidate their learned experience into facilitative leadership behavior.

An investigation into challenges facing distributed teams: Case of South Australian construction projects

There is increasing momentum within the construction industry to deploy distributed teams on projects, yet the major challenges that companies face for managing teams in distributed arrangements have yet to be explored in the construction context. Driven by such need, this study is intended to present an account of the major challenges encountered throughout the life cycle of offshore outsourcing arrangements within the South Australian construction industry. To this end, the study describes the observations made within the natural contexts of one construction project in terms of the challenges to the success of deploying distributed teams for outsourcing of works. Discussions remain in dialogue with relevant theories and the pertinent literature to explain the interpretations and lessons learned and to underpin the conclusions made. It is contended that this study contributes to the field by providing an illuminating insight into potential challenges facing distributed teams being implemented in outsourcing tasks in construction projects. Discussions also offer practical guidelines for construction project managers and assist them in dealing with potential challenges of offshore outsourcing through the lenses of distributed team working principles.

Australia's newest quarantine for biological control

The paper describes the QC3 quarantine facility and supporting infrastructure which were purpose built for weed biological control at the Ecosciences Precinct. The quarantine is one of two new weed quarantine facilities in Australia and will service northern Australia. An account of the sharing philosophy between CSIRO and the Queensland Government and the necessity of working very closely with architects, project managers, builders and quarantine personnel is also given. This philosophy contributed to certification of the facility without any undue delays.

Safety of Repair, Maintenance, Minor Alteration, and Addition (RMAA) Works: A New Focus of Construction Safety

"Safety of RMAA works is an almost uncharted topic of rising importance internationally. Small construction contractors are particularly dependant on RMAA work, especially during times of recession, and they undertake more risks on these jobs than large companies do. This book is based on unique international research and consultancy projects which detail, investigate, and suggest solutions to the specific challenges of safety in RMAA works, based on case studies. Starting with an overview of safety in the wider construction industries of developed countries, the first half of this book also provides a comprehensive summary of relevant rules, regulations, and the resulting safety performances. The systems in the UK, US and Hong Kong are described and contrasted, giving the reader an understanding of how different regulatory approaches have yielded a variety of results. From this solid introduction, specific problems observed in RMAA work are examined through case studies, with reference to the underlying cultural and demographic factors, and a variety of practical engineering and management solutions are explored. This important and practical international work is essential reading for postgraduate students of health and safety in construction, construction project management, or construction in developing countries, as well as policy-makers and construction project managers."--Publisher website

O perfil dos gerentes de projetos do Centro de Informática da Câmara dos Deputados baseado nas competências de conhecimento, desempenho e pessoais do Framework de Desenvolvimento de Competências do Gerente de Projeto

Habilidades interpessoais é uma das especializações necessárias ao gerenciamento de projetos. O planejamento estratégico da Câmara dos Deputados e o do Centro de Informática apontam a tendência para a gestão, tais como gestão de projetos, de processos, de pessoas, por exemplo. Assim como cada projeto é único, cada pessoa é única, com talentos, mas também com necessidade de desenvolvimento de algumas competências e habilidades e mudança de atitudes. Este trabalho visa a identificar o perfil dos gerentes de projetos do Centro de Informática da Câmara dos Deputados baseado nas competências de conhecimento, desempenho e pessoais do Framework de Desenvolvimento de Competências do Gerente de Projeto.