Communicating about organizational culture in the briefing process: case study of a hospital project

A new hospital building represents a rare opportunity to align the physical environment of healthcare with contemporary healthcare needs and models of healthcare delivery to help ensure optimal health outcomes. The effectiveness of interaction between project stakeholders from the hospital and design teams during the briefing process of any hospital project is critical in ensuring this alignment occurs. Therefore it is important to explore the process of knowledge sharing during this project briefing stage. Using thematic content analysis to explore communication exchanges between these project stakeholders, we show that knowledge exchanged during the briefing process is acquired not only explicitly but implicitly through social processes whereby participants attempt to socially construct a common understanding of the project. In particular, the importance of constructive conflict in driving this process is critical. This has implications for health planners, project managers, facilities managers and health professions engaged in the briefing process of hospital projects. In particular, it highlights the importance of providing the correct environment and enough time for culturally conducive social interaction and knowledge sharing to occur between the many stakeholders involved.     

成功的公私合营模式前期采购相关的关键因素

PPP 项目的前期阶段至关重要,因为它有助于在采购过程中澄清客户的需求,这是PPP 中最重要的元素之一。针对这一点,本文目的在于确定可能会影响成功的前期采购相关的关键因素。基于现有文献和访谈,研究确定了15 个采购相关因素。进行因子分析,以确定潜在影响PPP 前期阶段的方面和尺度。在香港发放问卷调查,收集定量数据。结果提炼出客户对前期阶段的要求和决定、简报文件和灵活性、清晰的简报过程和控制及前期阶段中利益相关方的参与4 个主成分对前期采购具有影响,这4 个方面是PPP 可持续发展的基础,并可在前期阶段帮助改善PPP 项目的运作。     

Mapping stakeholders’ cultural learning in the hospital briefing process

In the context of a major hospital redevelopment project, briefing is conceived as an organic and cyclical process of cultural learning whereby project and hospital representatives gradually converge upon a shared meaning of each other’s values, beliefs and needs over time. Using a comparative cause mapping that draws on a case study approach and interviews, it was found that the clinicians’ understanding of the key cultural concepts differed significantly from all other groups and that clinicians’ ability to influence hospital design outcomes is constrained by their relative social marginalization in the briefing process. It follows that hospital facilities would better meet client needs if the briefing process is managed as a process through which project participants interact to socially construct a common understanding of project objectives and requirements; and if knowledge about facility requirements is not merely ‘given’ information but is the result of cultural learning involving social processes among the briefing participants.     

Collective Intelligence in Design

In their introduction to this issue, Christopher Hight and Chris Perry define the idea of collective intelligence in its relationship to design practice and to broader technological and social formations. First they suggest a reformulation of practices around networked communication infrastructures as conduits for the new orchestrations of power that Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt detailed in their books Empire and Multitude. They then describe how such practices are often involved in the development of responsive sensing environments as new sites for manifesting the social organisations and communities made possible via telecommunications and the Internet. Lastly, they address how traditional boundaries of design disciplines and knowledge, from architecture to programming, are opening into complex co-minglings of their respective isolated ‘intelligences’ into collectives capable of engaging these new sites, new briefs and new sorts of projects. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Co-design and urban resilience: visioning tools for commoning resilience practices

Abstract

In response to the environmental and social challenges of an uncertain future, practitioners and communities across Europe and beyond have started to engage with the concept of ‘resilience’ and experiment with forms of local resilience. However, many of these initiatives tend to remain localised, isolated projects, with little capacity to instigate broader change and at risk to disappear by not having the means to become sustainable in the longer term. We suggest that one way of sustaining and scaling local resilience practices is by developing digital tools that could enable connections and knowledge sharing across locations, through commoning in the digital realm. In this paper, we introduce the specific co-design process we devised with the aim to develop an initial ‘brief’ for potential tools. By creating a co-design process that is situated, mediated, networked and open-source, we argue that the commoning process initiated in this project has the potential to evolve and expand, beyond the project time and initial user base—an essential quality in the context of collectively enhancing urban resilience through knowledge sharing and mutual support.     

A framework for identification and representation of client requirements in the briefing process

The briefing process is critical to the successful delivery of construction projects. Although a number of briefing guides have been developed, attempting to address the problems of briefing, they are often criticized as being too general and implicit. This paper describes a structured framework for identifying and representing client requirements (CRs) in the briefing process. It integrates the value management (VM) methodology with function analysis system technique (FAST) and functional performance specification (FPS) to enable the client organization and project team to systematically identify, clarify and clearly represent CRs in the briefing process. It comprises four interrelated phases: preparation, information, analysis and evaluation. This paper starts with a critical review of previous work in briefing and function analysis, followed by an introduction to the research methodology and detailed illustration of the proposed framework. The use of this framework can facilitate and lead to systematic identification and clarification of client requirements and the formation of a more precise and explicit representation of these requirements. The limitations of the approach are also discussed in the paper.     

Improving megaproject briefing through enhanced collaboration with ICT

AimsThe paper reviews the development of information and communication technology in briefing and proposes a collaborative briefing framework to extend key stakeholder engagement, aiming to improve the efficiency and reliability of project briefing for megaprojects.ScopeAuthors introduce an innovative collaborative approach to promote stakeholder involvement by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of managing a large group of stakeholders, harnessing collaboration technology. Drawing parallels with biological neural networks in humans, a conceptual collaborative briefing framework is proposed to demonstrate how briefing team members can work collaboratively as a virtual organisation through a shared digital workspace. This framework has five core elements: integrated briefing team, collaborative briefing job plan, computer supported cooperative work platform, requirements processing models and facilitation models.ConclusionThe proposed framework supplements face-to-face discussion with computer mediated discussion, depending on the type, flexibility and interaction needed for different aspects in briefing. This “hybrid briefing method” would maximise the benefits to costs ratio of expanded stakeholder engagement in project briefing. The framework is expected to promote the accuracy and transparency of ‘requirements identification’ processing, the effective engagement and appropriate integration of more stakeholder inputs and finally, to improve the efficiency and reliability of briefing outputs. Lastly, some framework limitations are discussed, aimed at further development and a computer prototype.     

转型期城市战略研究新思维

通过对我国2000年代初的战略规划的简要回顾与背景分析,在肯定2000年代初战略规划对我国城市规划编制程序与方法的推动作用基础上,分析了国家发展战略的重大调整、城市发展阶段的转型、规划法制环境的改善等背景变化对城市战略研究的影响,在对2000年代初的战略规划与转型期战略研究相关内容进行比较研究基础上,对转型期城市战略研究的研究思路、研究方法、战略重点与空间战略等提出了初步思考。     

我国金属屋面工程发展现状

将金属屋面在我国的发展历程归纳为4个阶段:引入期、发展期、完善期和成熟期,并对各阶段的发展概况作了介绍;指出我国金属屋面工程的技术(包括板型与材料、构造和系统)和应用都在不断发展中。     

挖掘机回转啮合齿轮端面干涉分析及改进

简要介绍了挖掘机回转装置的结构组成和工作原理,分析了回转啮合齿轮受力状态,阐述了回转啮合齿轮在高负载过程中出现的齿面上端部干涉现象,提出回转机构输出轴的悬臂结构是造成该干涉现象的根本原因,并从结构设计、装配、选材等方面总结了多种改进方案,重点介绍了不等高装配、鼓形齿面、齿向厚度递减和齿上端部增加阶梯差等4项方案.通过,主机回转异响故障的分析与解决实践,验证了齿向厚度递减改进措施效果明显,回转齿轮工作性能大幅提升,使用寿命显著延长.     

Good practice in briefing: the limits of rationality

This paper identifies briefing as a persistent problem area for the construction industry and suggests that little development has occurred in briefing practice in 30 years. A research project is then described which aims to address the problem and lead to real improvements in briefing. Using techniques derived from grounded theory, initial results indicate that the issue is not simply a matter of good practice not being implemented—it is deeper than this, often involving the human dimension. This leads to an analysis of the problem in terms of human error theory and a discussion of the limits of the application of a rationalistic approach to briefing. Conclusions are drawn, pointing towards the need for new, richer perspectives to be taken if improvements in briefing are to be achieved in practice, or indeed in theory.     

浅谈部分岩土工程正确实施与质量检评

岩土工程是建设工程重要组成部分,能否正确地组织实施和严把施工质量关是确保建设工程质量的首要一环。文章浅谈了部分岩土工程实践经验与初步体会,供实践参考。     

多功能观演厅堂舞台声支持设计思路

随着人们对建筑空间声品质要求的提升、建筑声学理论的进步,相关装修材料、装修设计及施工方法的演化,观演建筑的舞台声环境将逐步受重视。意在强调早期反射声对表演者自我听闻和相互听闻的重要性,以及ST1和返听延时表征实际舞台返听支持度的有效性。本文列举了ST1和返听延时的优选区间及调试方法,较为详尽地介绍了一种改善舞台声支持的设计思路——兼顾舞台返听和舞台混响时间设计。     

Quantifying the causes and costs of rework in construction

Very few construction companies and consulting firms in Australia measure their costs of quality. Consequently, it is difficult for them to prove that systems for preventing quality failures are cost-effective. Although the direct costs of a quality system can be quantified with some accuracy (salaries, costs of documentation, audits, etc.), the corresponding benefits are far more difficult to assess. Indeed quality failures have become an endemic feature of the procurement process in construction and invariably lead to time and cost overruns in projects. Thus, in order to improve the performance of projects it is necessary to identify the causes and costs rework. The research presented in this paper quantifies the causes, magnitude and costs of rework experienced in two construction projects that were procured using different contractual arrangements. The causes and costs of rework projects are analysed and discussed. The findings reveal that the cost of rework for the case study projects was 3.15% and 2.40% of their project contract value. Changes initiated by the client and end-user together with errors and omissions in contract documentation were found to be the primary causes of rework. It is recommended that construction companies and consultant firms (particularly design consultants) implement quality management practices as well as place emphasis on coordinating project documentation during the design development process so that the amount of rework in projects can be reduced or even eliminated.     

Quality practices in design organizations

Design organizations play a major role in the construction industry: they are the media that transfer the requirements of the client to the contractor and ensure that they are met. Thus they need to provide a high quality of service to ensure that their client's project achieves the best possible standards of cost, time and quality. Seventy quality practices (QP) were identified as having a bearing on the quality of service provided by the local design organizations. These quality practices were grouped into fifteen sections termed quality sections (QS). The prevalence of these practices among the local design organizations was surveyed and determined. The results indicate a significant need for improvement in the quality sections ‘working relationship’, ‘employee training and education’, and ‘performance quality audit’. The study reveals the need for the establishment of a design code, and evaluation standards for local design organizations.     

Performance analytics for regulation in retail water utilities: Guiding asset management by identifying peers and targets

This research evaluates the performance of water supply utilities operating at the retail level in Portugal concerning asset management practices. The study’s main innovative feature is identifying peers and targets to guide improvements in the sector. Reliable data collected by the regulatory authority for water and waste services in Portugal (ERSAR) are employed to design two composite indicators reflecting different dimensions of asset management: operational conditions and management systems. Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis technique, the Benefit-of-the-Doubt model is employed in robust and conditional formulations. The role of the context on utilities’ performance is also investigated. The results show that the direct management model is unfavourable concerning developing structured management systems, whilst urban environments favour managerial advancement. Rural and semi-urban environments favour “good” operational results in infrastructures. The pool of peers obtained for each utility and the quantification of targets based on the observed achievements by those peers facilitates the search for industry best practices and promotes continuous improvement. Given the high heterogeneity in asset management performance within the sector, the utility-specific target-setting approach illustrated in this paper can support a regulatory policy review for determining more realistic goals.     

Vegetation in the early landscape art of the Sydney region, Australia: accurate record or artistic licence?

With its relatively short European history, Australia's earliest paintings may provide information on both the pre-European landscape and changes since first settlement. The pictorial record is examined as historical documentation of natural landscape, particularly vegetation, by considering artistic depictions of the region around Sydney, New South Wales, from initial settlement in 1788 to the early 1850s. Critical comment relating to the accuracy of the landscape paintings is examined by reference to the pictures and to Sydney's dramatically varied geology that shaped the landscapes and the vegetation communities that artists painted. There are few detailed studies of Australian landscape painting and much of the critical comment is found to be generalized and only partly accurate, including the persistent criticism that artists misrepresented Australian environments for a multitude of reasons. The pictorial record displays consistent observation of the real variation in landscape character, and in vegetation structure, communities and species. It also appears to provide interesting evidence of differential impact of fire, indicating different pre-settlement fire regimes in different landscape types.     

A process approach in measuring quality costs of construction projects: model development

One of the most effective tools for evaluating the success of a quality management programme is the measurement of quality costs (prevention, appraisal and failure costs). The application of the concept of quality costs originated in the manufacturing industry in the early 1950s. As increasing attention has been given to improving the overall quality in the construction process since the early 1980s, the application of total quality management (TQM) practices in the construction industry has gained much popularity. A systematic approach is needed for measuring quality costs, especially in the construction industry, due to the great number and complexity of activities involved in a typical project. This paper describes how a simple methodology can be used to capture quality costs in construction projects. Pre-existing models for capturing construction quality costs, by Davis, by Abdul-Rahman, by Low and Yeo and by others, recognize quality cost components but do not address the causes or sources of unwanted deviations. This paper proposes an alternative approach, based on the process cost model and in conformance with BS6143 (1992), which is thought to better facilitate the fundamental goal of TQM, i.e. continual process improvement. A number of professionals involved in construction quality management were interviewed and responded favourably to the practicality of the proposed framework in the construction context.