Quality management standardization in the French construction industry: singularities and internationalization prospects

Over the last 10 years quality management in the French construction industry has triggered a range of innovative ideas spanning all professions, ideas that have been developed further through action-research. The creation of quality clubs is one of the first examples of this, followed by the setting up of professional quality assurance references based on the ISO 9002 Standard, to be used first and foremost by construction contractors (QUALIBAT), but also by architects (AQC and QUALIARCH), and finally clients (QUALIMO). The clubs and QUALIBAT are today experiencing either a decrease in activity or a growth-caused crisis, made all the worse by the devastating effects of a long, drawn-out activity crisis which lasted from 1993 until 1998 and led to widespread abnormally low prices. A new impetus has been given to the sector by the Construction Branch of the French Movement for Quality (MFQ) through the combined force of the clubs experience and the development of professional quality references. The innovation consists of drawing up an experimental standard for quality management in the construction industry and actively participating in revising the ISO 9000 Standards for the year 2000. Although specifically French, other countries in southern Europe and Latin America with whom there has been regular contact since 1996 are interested in this initiative.     

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 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.     

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.     

Mobilizing the skills of specialist firms to reduce costs and enhance performance in the European construction industry: two case studies

Analyses are made of procurement strategies capable of leading to cost reduction and higher quality through the contribution of specialized firms. An exploration is made of the literature concerning the procurement of manufactured goods and progress by analysing two case studies: the East Bridge of the Storebælt link and the Grand Canal Maritime bridge. Both these projects adopted procurement systems that led to a learning process capable of enhancing performance and reducing overall costs. It is evident that the success of learning-oriented procurement strategies relies on two major conditions. First, the client's tender must be issued with an open design demanding an active contribution from the firms involved in the construction process. Second, the firms bidding for the job must be able to manage two distinct sets of skills: the technical skills relating to a specific production process and the ability to connect these skills to the client's needs through a co-design process, or what is known as the strategic intermediation function.     

浅谈大规模建设中施工合同纠纷频发的原因及预防措施

针对大规模建设地区工程建设中出现的大量合同纠纷问题,本文从业主的管理、设计不完善、工期过紧、合同管理不重视、工程款支付和结算、索赔等方面分析其发生的原因,并指出可以通过建立完备规章制度和合同管理体系、重视合同作用和管理工作、提高合同管理人员的素质、加强索赔管理等措施来降低此类施工合同纠纷。     

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.     

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.     

Market strategies and core capabilities in the building industry

The objective of this study is to show that the core competence approach has validity when applied to construction. The focus is on the analysis of the fit between market strategies of firms in the building industry and their core capabilities. Certain strategies require specific core capabilities and key external and internal conditions supporting these capabilities. The resource-based approach focuses on the conditions in a firm, the internal capabilities, and supports a core capability that is demanded. The network literature will be related to external conditions that support a core capability of a firm active in a certain market. In a multiple case study, firms are analysed that are involved in different stages of the building process. The case studies demonstrate firms with consistent patterns of market strategies, core capabilities, and supporting internal and external conditions. The specific core capability of the firm under investigation determines the types of external and internal conditions that are critical.     

Crisis management in Turkish construction industry

Various economical crises have affected Turkish economy during the last decade and construction industry has always been among the hardest hit; giving the idea that a comprehensive approach to crisis management is unavoidable. However, literature showed no findings related with crisis management applications by construction companies. Thus, a questionnaire survey was undertaken by the top management of 120 construction companies to investigate the degree of crisis management applications throughout the industry, mainly focusing on the outcomes during the economical crisis in 2001. Frequency analysis, Likert scale of comparison, Thurstone's paired comparisons, Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to evaluate the results.     

Market structure of the construction industry in Hong Kong

This study examines the market structure of four different sectors within the construction industry in Hong Kong. Market concentrations, expressed in terms of Herfindahl-Hershamann indices (HHIs) and number equivalents (HNEs), are calibrated for the top five contractors and compared with those of the local property industry. The study reveals the following ascending order of market concentrations: private building, public building, property development, and civil engineering. Our explanation is that technological and capital requirements have imposed a strong barrier to entry into the civil engineering sector, resulting in a concentrated market. Conversely, the lack of technological demand and supply in the private building sector has led to easy market entry and exit. Building contractors thus compete intensely on cost reduction rather than technology improvement, leading to poor construction safety and product quality. The paper concludes that the Government, being a major client of construction works and regulator of the industry, can assume a more active role in promoting the overall competitiveness of indigenous local contractors in Hong Kong.     

The evaluation of change in the construction industry

The paper describes the fortunes of a minor technical innovation - purpose-made, steel fabric reinforcement for concrete, and argues, through this example, that the discussion of change, which is formally carried on within ‘technical’ and ‘economic’ frameworks, must be extended in order to address explicitly the ‘political’ implications which are tacitly recognized by practitioners. The term ‘political’ is used in its widest sense to encompass the fact that the many parties involved within the construction process promote not only their own interests but different ways in which benefits are described and evaluated. The use of mainstream economics, offering to provide a unitary set of criteria by which to evaluate benefit, submerges this political dimension.     

The dispute resolution adviser in the construction industry

One of the most difficult papers to classify at the CIB Construction Conflict conference, because the Dispute Resolution Adviser (DRA) has some of the tasks of conflict management and even avoidance. The author's account of the DRA system is a unique contribution to the discussion.     

Integration, segmentalism and the maintenance of quality management systems in the construction industry

The authors concentrate on the application of the non-technical approach to help to promote an integrative environment for the development of change and innovation, with the primary objective of quality improvement. The case studies suggest that Company A is more segmentalist in nature than Company B which adopts an integrative approach. Les auteurs examinent l'adoption de l'approche non technique dans la creation d'un environnement integratif favorisant l'evolution et l'innovation, et de la, l'amelioration de la qualite. Les etudes de cas font apparaitre que l'entreprise A est de nature plus segmentaire que l'entreprise B ayant adopte une approche integrative.     

液压机械传动在工程机械中的应用及其前景

简要说明了液压机械传动的基本原理,介绍目前国外液压机械传动的研究和应用情况。提出对液压机械传动研究的主要课题。并简述了设计方法和可靠性评价。     

Towards understanding the contractor's response to carbon reduction policies in the construction projects

Policies like the carbon tax and tightened building regulations have been advocated as the effective drivers of carbon reduction strategy adoption. Few however, have acknowledged that project environment strategy adoption is a matter of organisational culture (OC). This paper reports a study that aims to examine the effect of some key drivers on the contractors' adoption of carbon reduction strategies in OC perspective. A conceptual model which depicts the hypothesised relationship among OC, carbon reduction drivers and strategy adoption is presented. The model is tested with data collected by a survey conducted in New South Wales, Australia. To test the conceptual model, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple moderated regression (MMR) analysis were employed. The results suggest that the respondents may not adjust their attitudes in carbon reduction strategy adoption for the sake of avoiding ‘penalty’. The findings may be thought provoking for those who believe that levies on carbon emissions would lead to a behavioural drift.     

Age-dependent business failures in the US construction industry

Age-dependent failure in the construction industry is explored over two 11-year periods (1973–1983 and 1984–1994) by analysing the age distribution of failed construction companies in each year and computing age-specific failure probabilities over a 10 year period (1985–1994). The conflicting perspectives of organizational theory are reconciled by taking advantage of the complementary nature of the adaptationist and organizational ecology theories while the effects of the characteristics of the construction industry are also considered. The research findings reveal an age-dependent business failure pattern in the US construction industry where the risk of failure increases initially with increasing age, reaches a peak point and decreases thereafter as companies grow older. Newness of a construction company which implies lack of organizational learning and lack of legitimacy, appears to be the main factor explaining this pattern.     

中国工程建设标准化理念的战略输出

加入WTO后,我国在工程建设标准的建设和管理上,已形成一套比较完整的体系,有着广泛的适应性和代表性.本文针对工程建设标准的特点,在探讨我国工程建设标准化理念向国外整体输出的可能性的基础上,分析工程建设标准化理念战略输出的具体措施和方案.     

The need for technical auditing in the Zambian construction industry

As economic crimes such as fraud, bid-rigging, bribery, collusion, coercion and extortion in the construction industry have increased worldwide, so has the fight against them taken centre stage. To uphold the high ethical standards required in the industry, stakeholders need to introduce and promote proactive strategies such as technical auditing to minimise or prevent unethical practices in the construction industry. This paper outlines the need and benefits of technical auditing in the Zambian construction industry. It presents results of a self-administered questionnaire survey in the construction industry in Zambia. The study established that the pre-contract stage was more susceptible to unethical crimes than the post-contract stage, making the appointment of technical auditors at planning stage more appropriate. The highest ranked benefit of technical auditing was found to be client confidence, followed by enhanced accountability, reduced project costs and disputes in that order of significance. It is hoped that the results of the study may be useful in raising awareness about unethical practices and required prevention strategies, and assist in the development of necessary policies and guidelines for the introduction of mandatory technical auditing on publicly funded construction projects in Zambia and elsewhere.