Application of ANP in process models: An example of strategic partnering

Analytic network process (ANP) is a new tool for multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) but can also be applied in academic research to prioritize factors or criteria. It enhances the function of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to develop a complete model that can incorporate interdependent relationships between elements from different levels or within levels, which are assumed to be uncorrelated in AHP. Although ANP has recently been applied in the construction field, it cannot be applied easily to process models. This is because its concept does not consider the impacts of an element on another element occurring at different periods in a process, such as stages, phases, etc. This paper uses the strategic partnering model as an example to present a method that helps to form the super-matrix for process models. The procedure of ANP is also highlighted in this paper.     

Towards a shift in mindset: partnering projects as engagement platforms

The last decade has seen shifts in both practice and research regarding client–supplier relationships. Cooperative project client–supplier relationships have become increasingly common, and have spurred a stream of vivid research on for example alliances and partnering. Despite increased attention, an insufficient understanding of the relationship dimension is identified, described as a ‘black box’. Here it is suggested that a key to unlock this ‘black box’ is to focus on the everyday practice and the role of the mindset of involved actors throughout the project. We argue that running partnering projects involves more deeply rooted changes than previously recognized. Changes relate to the mindset among involved actors, where service (instead of merely products or production) becomes the core denominator. First we aim to illustrate that a partnering project, if well functioning, can be understood as an engagement platform, and second we aim to discuss the consequences if this is acknowledged in practice. The case, a successful Swedish partnering project, is explored from a service-dominant logic perspective and it is suggested that successful partnering projects are to be defined as engagement platforms. A refined categorization of the components of partnering is provided and the implications of a shift in mindset discussed.     

The effect on contingency allowances of using risk analysis in capital cost estimating: a Hong Kong case study

Despite the vast interest and enthusiasm on the benefits of construction partnering, no apparent trend exists to show that it has become the dominant choice of procurement method across construction industries internationally. Rather, the implementation of construction partnering has been patchy, with varying degrees of success and, in many instances, its adoption is more an exception than the norm. This study argues and sets out to test the proposition that despite the huge advocacy for the use of partnering, its slow uptake and, more importantly, the inconsistent results it yields are due to the lack of systematic investigation into the institutional determinants of partnering. Based on data collected from 526 firms covering various industry disciplines, results show that firms' use of partnering is selective and that this selectiveness is significantly determined by the industry's level of institutional norms and not by the conventional notion that partnering increases a firm's profitability or efficiency. Findings further indicate that firms that perceive there are strong industry norms for partnering are twice as likely to use partnering as firms that do not have such perception. By empirically examining the institutional conditions under which partnering is more likely to occur, this study sheds some light on why the implementation of partnering remains at a conservative rate and suggests avenues for future research.     

Integrated maintenance management of hospital buildings: a case study

Over the course of the past three decades, facilities management has become the subject of an increasing number of research and development efforts. The main objective of the present research was to examine the efficiency of maintenance under alternative maintenance policies and different sources of human resources. The research focused on the maintenance of public hospital buildings in Israel, with the objective of providing a model for multi‐system facilities operating in a dynamic environment. This paper describes the last three stages of the research: the establishment of key performance indicators, the implementation of these indicators in a case study in order to appraise them, and the validation of the indicators. Four key performance indicators were developed, as follows: the Building Performance Indicator (BPI), the Manpower Sources Diagram (MSD), the Maintenance Efficiency Indicator (MEI) and the Managerial Span of Control (MSC). This paper illustrates a case study in which the four developed indicators were implemented in practice. Characteristics of the case study hospital are presented and analysed. Finally, the conclusions and recommendations drawn from the analysis of the hospital case study are discussed, validated and deliberated upon. The approach presented in this paper integrates performance, financial, human resources and organizational aspects to facilitate an improved evaluation method of the parameters affecting the execution of maintenance activities.     

Housing rites: young people’s experience of conditional pathways out of homelessness

Abstract

Since devolution, Scotland has been perceived as an international trailblazer in homelessness policy. This is principally due to The Homelessness Etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 which led to the ‘priority need’ category being abolished in 2012, thus placing a statutory duty upon local authorities to provide settled accommodation to nearly all homeless households. This has been widely praised for extending citizenship rights to those experiencing homelessness. In contrast to this, this paper examines the experiences of young people (aged 16–24) where judgements on whether they were ‘housing ready’ delayed them being provided settled accommodation. Drawing on Bourdieu's writing on rites of institution, it is shown how the symbolic categories deployed by support services and landlords operated as a means of ‘vision and division’, creating new social positions that lengthened the pathway out of homelessness. In a complimentary move, there was a fusion of support with control mechanisms to determine a person's readiness for settled accommodation.     

Place and Disadvantage: The Need for Reflexive Epistemology in Spatial Social Science

The relationship between place and disadvantage, and particularly the question of whether, and how, geographical concentration of disadvantaged households exacerbates disadvantage is of growing concern to social science and urban policy. Despite many calls for a subtle and complex approach to constructing knowledge about these issues, a positivist approach based on statistical indicators, appears to dominate policy making. This approach reifies place and distracts attention from strategies which might effectively address disadvantage at the local level. This article describes two examples of small area redevelopment where such an approach has been used to suggest that redevelopment and dispersal of public housing concentrations are in the interests of current residents, whose lives would be improved through replacement of existing housing forms with more diverse, or at least tenure-mixed, suburbs. Yet the process by which this improvement will occur is yet to be explicated or even adequately theorised by spatial social science. The indicators used to measure the 'success' of redevelopment, such as small area employment, education and crime statistics, are likely to reveal little about the impact of such projects on the lives of the individuals most affected. A more reflexive and 'deeply engaged' research methodology is called for.     

The Governance of Mandated Partnerships: The Case of Social Housing Procurement

Partnership working is nowadays a seemingly ubiquitous aspect of the management and delivery of public services, yet there remain major differences of opinion about how they best work for the different stakeholders they involve. The balances between mandate and trust, and between hard and soft power, are crucial to current debates about public service partnerships. This paper explores the example of social housing procurement in Northern Ireland, and the requirement to form mandated procurement groups. The research shows that the exercise of hierarchical power is still important in network governance; that mandated partnerships alter the balance between trust and power in partnership working, but the impact is uneven; and that these relationships are (re)shaping the ‘hybrid’ identity of housing associations. The balance between accountability for public resources and the independence of third sector organisations is the key tension in mandated partnerships. The Northern Ireland experience suggests that trust-based networks could provide more productive working relationships in partnerships for service delivery.     

Development of a framework of key performance indicators to identify reductions in energy consumption in a medical devices production facility

The consumption of energy in manufacturing operations is growing in significance and approaches to reduce the resulting environmental impacts are necessary. Whilst companies have focused on reducing energy at a facilities level, research indicates that specific production processes generate significant environmental impact through energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Potential energy savings have been identified in production processes; however the necessary tools are missing. The development of energy performance indicators have been described in theory but there is little evidence of their successful application in practice. This research proposes the application of a normalised co-efficient to view production and energy data and the development of a rolling energy performance co-efficient to provide alerts to ‘out-of-control’ production operations. Implementation of the approach in a large medical devices manufacturing facility has identified significant savings. Key consideration in the development of energy key performance indicators for production operations are described.     

卓越绩效平衡计分卡方法的提出与运用

结合卓越绩效评价准则的要求,对卡普兰教授设计的平衡计分卡方法进行改进,提出了卓越绩效平衡计分卡新方法,并运用该方法建立了企业级关键绩效测量系统,同时对KPI体系建立和实施过程需注意的一些问题提出了建议。     

Understanding the impact of risks on performance in internal and outsourced information technology projects: The role of strategic importance

Successfully managing the risks of information technology projects continues to be a central problem for organizations regardless of whether the project is outsourced or not. While a plethora of studies has examined the effects of risks on performance, majority fail to distinguish the sourcing characteristics of the projects investigated. Furthermore, little is known about the joint effects of strategic importance and the risk on system performance across internal and outsourced projects. Based on data collected from 77 internal projects and 51 outsourced projects, we find that social subsystem and project management risks are negatively associated with system performance in both internal and outsourced projects. However, technical subsystem risk negatively affects performance only in internal projects. While social subsystem risk exerts greater influence on system performance in outsourced projects than in internal projects, the technical subsystem risk has greater effect on performance in internal than that in outsourced projects. Moreover, the effect of project management risk is not different in both types of projects. In addition, strategic importance moderates the relationship between risks and performance. The negative impact of risks on performance is greater in projects that are more strategic. Strategies are proposed to reduce the complexity and potential conflicts inherent to strategic projects because these characteristics may amplify a risk's impact.     

Green belts and urban containment: the Merseyside experience

ABSTRACT

The green belt, without question the most well-known and influential legacy of town and country planning in the UK, continues to attract interest from a wide range of interested parties – from those eager to maintain the protection it offers to the countryside, to others more concerned at the negative impacts it is argued to have on housing supply and consequently prices. In this paper we explore how the arguments for a green belt around a particular city in the UK – Liverpool – were built up over the middle years of the twentieth century, in particular through three important (sub-)regional plans. Analysis of those plans is situated within national policy and nationwide rhetoric to illustrate how perfectly justifiable arguments about the need to limit urban sprawl “baked in” resentment and opposition to much-needed housing growth. A situation which, as the final section of the paper briefly reflects upon, not only contributed to the wide-scale construction of high-rise flats in the city from the 1950s onwards, but continues to resonate today through the objections lodged against attempts to enhance the spatial footprint of the city through development on the green belt.     

Partnering 模式下的伙伴选择与项目绩效:合作关系的中介效应

Partnering 模式是改善项目绩效的一种有效方式,不同的伙伴选择会对项目绩效产生不同的影响。根据已有的研究将伙伴选择划分为信任程度、有效沟通、共赢态度和技术水平 4 个维度,引入合作关系作为中介变量,实证研究了伙伴选择对项目绩效的作用机制以及合作关系的中介效应。研究发现,合作关系在技术水平对项目绩效影响的中介效应并不显著,在有效沟通和共赢态度对项目绩效的影响中起着部分中介作用,在信任程度对项目绩效的影响中起着完全中介作用。研究结果对于 Partnering 模式下项目绩效的改善以及 Partnering 模式在我国的进一步发展与应用有着借鉴意义。     

The effectiveness of a strategic reserve in the presence of a high portfolio share of renewable energy sources

To ensure sufficient investment in electricity generation capacity, mechanisms such as strategic reserves are being considered or already implemented. We analyze the effectiveness of a strategic reserve in the presence of a growing portfolio share of renewable energy sources (RES) with EMLab-Generation, an agent-based electricity market model. A strategic reserve can stabilize investment, but within limits. Uncertainty regarding future demand may cause the market to become instable, potentially leading to periods with very high electricity prices. In the presence of a large share of variable renewable energy sources, the reserve design should be adjusted or replaced by an alternative capacity mechanism.     

A critical analysis of research of a mass-housing programme

ABSTRACT

A recent expansion of mass-housing programmes has occurred in emerging economies. The analysis of research on programmes raises questions about what type of research is produced and what its impact is on housing. The Brazilian ‘My House, My Life’ (Minha Casa, Minha Vida – MCMV) programme demonstrates that more of the same type of housing is produced and that the focus of most research repeats the same mistakes. Three million homes have been built and the research community has examined the programme’s social, economic and environmental impacts. A total of 2477 scientific studies on MCMV are analyzed. Few studies were found to assess living conditions from a user perspective at the residential unit scale. Although improvements have occurred on some social issues, the siting of housing on the urban periphery is problematic for urban mobility, social segregation and aesthetic monotony. Also, the design model does not respond to the diverse needs of inhabitants. Opportunities are identified for actions and essential missing research on mass housing. Retrofit strategies are urgent and social cost studies should induce change to the design model. Evidence-based research is needed to support policies and design processes for affordable and quality housing solutions that value users, their needs and aspirations.     

The learning organisation: toward a paradigm for mutually beneficial strategic construction alliances

Strategic alliances are becoming an important means of survival for managing construction organisations. Such alliances are a compromise between organisations doing business in isolation and in mutual partnership with another organisation(s). The key to competitive advantage and improving customer satisfaction lies in the ability of organisations to form learning alliances; these being strategic partnerships based on a business environment that encourages mutual (and reflective) learning between partners. Well-designed, successful alliances enhance co-operation and a high level of trust and commitment. A learning framework is presented to foster successful co-operative strategic alliances between construction organisations. A case study is highlighted based on Rameses Associates and Lloyds TSB Insurance of the UK, to illustrate the advantages of the thesis proffered.     

Methodology Adaptation across Levels of Development: Applying a US Regional Housing Model to Brazil

Adapting a methodology to assess housing need is intrinsically difficult, particularly when it must address different levels of development. This paper presents a general discussion of housing needs and assessment methodologies and examines the adaptation of an affordable housing needs assessment methodology developed in the US to produce a method to be applied in developing countries. Specifically, a pilot project was conducted in Brazil, yielding results applicable to any developing country where security of tenure and poverty contribute to the housing problem. Security of tenure, adequacy of shelter and infrastructure, and other concepts are characterized. Cultural, institutional and structural peculiarities of the Brazilian context are explained. The analysis reveals the difficulties of transferring methodologies from developed to developing countries, but also the advantages of looking at seemingly unquantifiable situations through the lenses of a workable model. Results illustrate the application of the adapted methodology and conclusions offer a reflection on the impact of methodology transfer to developing countries.     

Historical analysis of the economic life-cycle performance of public school buildings

ABSTRACT

Scientific community and practitioners of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector have been developing life-cycle cost (LCC) concept for the past decades. However, information on a building’s economic performance throughout its life-cycle is seldom readily available or accurate. This hinders the fulfilment of recommendations of international and regional standards, procurement guidelines and regulations, and for building management (BM) professionals to fully incorporate the LCC concept into their daily practice. This paper seeks to contribute to solving these difficulties by presenting a conceptual framework that enables LCC-informed decisions in BM, together with its empirical application to a portfolio of 158 public school buildings in Portugal (constructed area of 1,437,594?m²). It involved the gathering, organization and treatment of historical data of school buildings originally constructed from 1942 onwards. The historical analysis is presented in the form of three types of economic life-cycle key performance indicators (time series, indexes and relative ratios). It originated a database with more than 1.4 million results that offer a profound understanding of historical economic performance of this portfolio. The results can be adapted and used to benchmark or estimate construction, operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, rehabilitation, energy consumption, water consumption and deconstruction costs of buildings throughout the world.     

Maximizing strategic value from megaprojects: The influence of information-feed on decision-making by the project manager

Large projects are notorious for erosion of value during execution. Decisions made by project managers have a significant impact on the strategic value of the asset delivered, and those decisions depend on the information feed on which they are based. This study uses theories of organizational behavior, decision-making and program management to investigate the impact of information feed used by project managers on the strategic value delivered by mega projects in the oil and gas industry. A global survey of 69 managers of mega-projects was conducted. Results showed that information feed to project managers significantly influences the strategic value created by megaprojects. Also some moderating effects of contextual factors on this relationship were found. The contextual factors that influenced project manager decision-making relate to what they perceived to be Senior Management drivers for their projects. However the hypothesized moderating influence of project manager experience on decision-making was not found—an interesting observation. It was found that the extent to which project managers feel in control should influence the scope and quality of information-feed that should be sought. Four risk areas were observed as significant to long-term value creation from megaprojects: government relations; host community relations; contract management and procurement; and the influence of multi-location execution.