The construction industry as a loosely coupled system: implications for productivity and innovation

Previous research suggests that the construction industry is characterized by (1) particular complexity factors owing to industry specific uncertainties and interdependences, and (2) inefficiency of operations. The aim of this study was to analyse the operations and behaviour of firms as a means of dealing with complexity. The observations made indicate that the industry as a whole is featured as a loosely coupled system. Taking this as a starting point, the couplings among activities, resources and actors were analysed in different dimensions. The pattern of couplings builds on two interdependent layers: tight couplings in individual projects and loose couplings based on collective adaptations in the permanent network. It is concluded that the pattern of couplings seems to favour short term productivity while hampering innovation and learning.     

土–地下结构相互作用的三维弱耦合有效应力分析法

地震波传播至土–结构接触界面时会发生反射与透射现象,结构周围土体处于往复剪应力和正应力差耦合的三维循环剪切状态.采用三维等效剪应变算法和加卸载判据将一维Davidenkov非线性滞回模型与剪切–体积应变耦合的孔压增量模型拓展至三维应力空间.考虑循环加载过程中土骨架循环刚度退化与超静孔隙水压力增长的耦合关系,建立了三维应...     

Role of simulation in construction management

Key applications are identified by the authors which include decision support systems for managing real life construction firms and projects as well as tools and devices for teaching theoretical concepts in construction management, training and team building.     

Insolvency and resolution of construction contract disputes by adjudication in the UK construction industry

The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 provides that a party to a construction contract has a right, at any time, to refer any dispute under the contract for adjudication. This resolution method requires a neutral third party, the adjudicator, to determine the dispute within 28 days after receipt of the referral regardless of the complexity of the issues in dispute. The decision is to be implemented even if it is palpably wrong in fact or law. A key assumption of this legislation is that any mistakes made by an adjudicator can be corrected by reference of the same to litigation or arbitration. It is a major concern that restoration of the parties to their correct positions may become impossible where, after implementation of an adjudicator's mistaken decision, the beneficiary of the decision becomes insolvent. This article is a critical review of all the cases in which the courts have dealt with the effect of insolvency on the right to adjudicate and the enforceability of adjudicators' decisions. Two main conclusions are derived from the review. First, the court may decline to enforce an adjudicator's payment decision where there is strong evidence that, on account of formal insolvency, the payee would be unable to make repayment if final resolution of the dispute necessitates it. Second, the only exception so far to the general right to refer to adjudication arises where the other party is in administration.     

A century of innovation in the Dutch construction industry

In recent years, the number of publications on innovation in the construction industry has increased. Many of these documents address qualitative issues, e.g. policies for innovation and present case studies. A more quantitative approach is taken in this paper, which is the continuation of a previous study. It focuses on main types and sources of innovation in the construction industry, and includes an analysis of 55 years of publications in two leading Dutch professional journals. The results show a recent increase in innovation, with two‐thirds of innovations coming out of supplying industries. Construction companies contribute mainly in process innovations. Innovation in construction remains to be technology‐ rather than market‐driven. Regulations have a surprising impact, as over one‐third of all counted new innovations are related to new regulations.     

Globalization and construction industry development: implications of recent developments in the construction sector in Asia

Recent developments in the construction sector in the Asian region demonstrate three trends: (1) larger private sector participation in infrastructure projects, (2) increasing vertical integration in the packaging of construction projects, and (3) increased foreign participation in domestic construction. This paper attributes the trends to the globalization and deregulation of markets necessitated by fiscal, technological and managerial constraints. Although these trends present intra-Asian opportunities, there are also areas of concern. The trends have helped polarize the financial and technical superiority of the developed countries and the corresponding inferiority of the developed countries in the region of the developing ones. In the long term, this gap could be filled through technology transfer. In the short term, however, there are concerns that imported construction services could grow at the expense of the indigenous sectors of the developing countries. This paper illustrates this dilemma with the case of Japan as a world leader in international construction services. Its dominance has apparently come through the orchestration of industrial and corporate policies, implemented in a highly regulated and protected domestic market. However, construction industries in other Asian economies (such as China) will have to leapfrog in technology, finance and management know-how (e.g. through joint ventures with developed countries' construction companies) before they can become formidable powers in an environment that has become much more global, more de-regulated, more open and more competitive than before.     

Innovativeness in British and French construction: the evidence from Transmanche-Link

This paper addresses the ‘innovativeness’ (the extent to which the design of the organization facilitates or inhibits innovation) of French and British project organizations. Following a review of the literature on organization design and innovativeness, data from a comparative organizational assessment of the British and French approaches to managing the Channel Tunnel construction project by Transmanche-Link are presented. These show that the British approach could well have less capacity for innovation than the French. The available evidence on the relative levels of innovation on the two sides of the Channel Tunnel are reviewed, showing that the predicted effects are found.     

The contracting system in the French construction industry: actors and institutions

An overview is presented of development in the French construction industry responding to economic, regulatory and legal changes over the last 20 years. As the French industry moved into recession in the early 1980s, the large French construction corporations increasingly moved upstream taking greater responsibility for design, and downstream becoming increasingly concerned with concessions for public works and services. The public sector clients' reactions to these developments is analysed, in particular the passing and implementation of the law on the public sector client. This safeguards a larger role for the architect in the construction process and tends to favour a shift back from general contracting to seperate trades contracting. The analysis is presented in terms of a struggle between the different actors in the French contracting system for predominance, and shows how the balance of relationships in the system is dynamic. Dans cette communication, l'auteur fait une presentation generale de l'evolution du secteur de la construction en France face aux modifications economiques, reglementaires et juridiques qui ont vu le jour au cours de ces 20 dernieres annees. Alors que dans son ensemble l'industrie francaise entrait dans une periode de recession au debut des annees 1980, les grandes entreprises du secteur de la construction se sont de plus en plus deplacees en amont pour prendre de plus grandes responsabilites en matiere de conception et, en aval, pour se preoccuper de plus en plus des concessions pour des travaux et des services publics. L'auteur analyse ensuite les reactions des clients du secteur public face a ces developpements, notamment l'adoption et la mise en oeuvre de lois sur les clients du secteur public. Ces lois prevoient un role plus important de l'architecte dans le procede de construction et ont tendance a favoriser un retour de l'enterprise generale vers l'entreprise specialisee. Cette analyse s'inscrit dans les termes d'un combat entre les differents intervenants en vue de dominer le systeme contractuel francais et montre comment l'equilibre des relations de ce systeme est dynamique.     

浅谈建设项目施工阶段造价控制

造价控制是施工管理的重要环节,本文主要从优化施工组织设计等六个方面,对如何进行施工阶段建设项目的造价控制进行了阐述。     

工程机械液压系统的现场维修

本文结合现场维修实际情况，简要对液压系统的故障特点；故障检测、诊断；液压系统的拆卸、装机；液压元件的修复以及液压系统的使用操作等方面作了介绍并列举了具体事例。     

Constructability implementation: a survey in the Malaysian construction industry

Twenty-three constructability concepts are identified. Based on these, an industry-wide questionnaire was administrated in Peninsular Malaysia. The respondents were the engineers working with owners, consultants, contractors, subcontractors and construction management firms. The importance, from the viewpoint of the Malaysian engineers, of the constructability concepts and the degree of the actual application of those concepts in the Malaysian Construction Industry is presented so that an insight on constructability implementation can be established. Fieldwork results revealed that the Malaysian engineers showed high acceptance of 22 concepts and rejected the one that relates to the fast-track method of construction. Those engineers accepted the constructability concepts from the theoretical point of view but generally they did not apply these concepts in their practices. The study also concludes that the Malaysian engineers show a wide understanding of the majority of the concepts. However, they did not link those concepts under the umbrella of constructability.     

车桥耦合振动系统模型的研究

在Euler-Bernoulli梁理论基础上,采用正弦函数模拟桥面不平度,建立了车桥系统耦合振动模型,运用Galerkin方法对系统离散化,建立了符合实际的非自治时变系数的微分方程组,改进了现有车桥耦合振动模型,对于探索车桥耦合振动机理和桥梁设计具有一定的实用意义。     

Comparison between design and actual energy performance of a HVAC-ground coupled heat pump system in cooling and heating operation

This work compares the experimental results obtained for the energy performance study of a ground coupled heat pump system with the design values predicted by means of standard methodology. The system energy performance of a monitored ground coupled heat pump system is calculated using the instantaneous measurements of temperature, flow and power consumption and these values are compared with the numerical predictions. These predictions are performed with the TRNSYS software tool following standard procedures taking the experimental thermal loads as input values. The main result of this work is that simulation results solely based on nominal heat pump capacities and performances overestimate the measured overall energy performance by a percentage between 15% and 20%. A sensitivity analysis of the simulation results to changes in percentage of its input parameters showed that the heat pump nominal coefficient of performance is the parameter that mostly affects the energy performance predictions. This analysis supports the idea that the discrepancies between experimental results and simulation outputs for this ground coupled system are mainly due to heat pump performance degradation for being used at partial load. An estimation of the impact of this effect in energy performance predictions reduces the discrepancies to values around 5%.     

工程机械的润滑故障及对策

本文概述了工程机械润滑的重要性，通过实例着重分析了工程机械润滑故障的特点，提出了排除故障的对策。     

Women in construction: the untapped resource

Currently there are over 11 million women employed in the UK, accounting for 49.5% of the workforce. However, despite increases in the number of women employed in the construction industry over the past decade, they still constitute only 13% of the industry's workforce. This means that construction continues to be the most male dominated of all the major industrial groups. A review is presented of the literature relating to the current position of women in the construction industry. It identifies and examines the barriers preventing women's entry into the industry, the subsequent barriers faced by those working within the construction industry, and initiatives committed to promoting equality for women and men in construction. These barriers arise from a number of sources including: the construction industry's image; career knowledge amongst children and adults; selection criteria and male dominated courses; recruitment practices and procedures; sexist attitudes; male dominated culture; and the work environment.     

谈施工企业的工程合同管理工作

论述了施工企业工程合同管理的意义及工程合同的种类,介绍了工程合同管理的原则,着重阐述了加强工程合同管理的措施,提出只有加强工程合同管理,才能为企业创造经济效益.     

工程机械液压系统的污染及控制措施

本文对工程机械液压系统污染问题进行探讨,论述液压系统中污染物的来源、生成以及由于污染而造成的损害、控制污染的几点具体措施。简要地介绍了欧洲共同体的CETOPRP70及英国皇家海军应用的污染控制标准。     

Development of quality matrix to measure the effectiveness of quality management systems in Turkish construction industry

Quality Management Systems (QMS) are being operated in some sectors in Turkey but it is rare to meet these systems in construction industry. There are many hinderances that make it difficult to apply these systems effectively due to the nature of construction and therefore, no objective way of measuring the effectiveness of these systems exists in construction industry.