Project Procurement Competence and Knowledge Base of Civil Engineering Consultants: An Empirical Study

This paper reports the findings of a survey designed to capture information on the construction project procurement systems (CPPSs) knowledge base of civil engineering consultants, specifically on their level of competence in terms of advising clients to make appropriate choices of CPPSs. The study included an examination of whether the civil engineering consultants’ advice on CPPSs and CPPSs services fulfilled the client’s needs and also the degree to which the client’s project requirements were being met. The selection criteria used by civil engineering consultants when choosing an appropriate procurement system was investigated. Also included in the study was an investigation into the degree to which civil engineering consultants communicate and inform clients of the range of CPPSs available to them. A postal questionnaire survey was administered to the clients (property developers) and civil engineering consultants in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. The results show that civil engineering consultants are unaware of or underinformed about the various construction project procurement systems available. Their selection criteria for procurement systems is based on biased past experience and conservative choices, with the result that incorrect decisions with unfortunate consequences are made.     

Developing Structural Integrated Stressor–Stress Models for Clients’ and Contractors’ Cost Engineers

Estimation is not a purely scientific task. It requires cost engineers equipped with a wide knowledge of construction and a professional ability to make judgments. However, stress will deaden their use of knowledge and influence their professional judgment in estimating. In the construction industry, cost engineers can generally be divided into two main groups: clients’ cost engineers in consultant firms or in a development company who serve clients; and contractors’ cost engineers in construction companies working for the contractors. This study investigates the causal relationships between the stressors and stress of clients’ and contractors’ cost engineers. Two stressor–stress integrated models were developed for these two cost engineer groups by using the structural equation model. The findings revealed some stressors that affected both clients’ and contractors’ cost engineers: (1) poor environment, role conflict and work underload affect their stress positively; (2) social support and Type A behavior affect their stress negatively; and (3) work underload induces stress via the role conflict among cost engineers, their supervisors, and the organization. On the other hand, some deviations between these two groups of cost engineers also occur: (1) social support acts as a source of stressors of clients’ cost engineers; (2) a private life stressor only affects the stress of contractors’ cost engineers; and (3) a closed interactive looping relationship among role conflict, Type A behavior, and work underload affects contractors’ cost engineers. Based on the results of this study, some recommendations are suggested to manage cost engineers’ stress well.     

Legal Issues Associated with Emergent Actor Roles in Innovative U.K. Procurement: Prime Contracting Case Study

Pressure for reform in U.K. construction procurement has led to a move toward relational contracting. Long-term partnerships between clients and construction service providers have enabled traditional construction roles to change radically and the reconfiguration of relationships between these emergent actors. Social network analysis was used to examine the new roles and relationships under an innovative procurement strategy known as prime contracting. This public sector procurement approach involved the introduction of the role of cluster leader combining the skills and knowledge traditionally provided by the architect, the chartered quantity surveyor, and the construction manager. The role of cluster leader was adopted by specialist contractors using existing staff and in the absence of dedicated training. The role was voluntary, however, those performing it were obliged to absorb liabilities relating to design information produced by other actors, financial management on behalf of the prime contractor, and responsibility for the management of the contract period, upon which the contract between the employer and the prime contractor was based. The additional responsibilities associated with the role of cluster leader were accepted without financial compensation, on the basis of maintaining goodwill with the prime contractor and employer. Liabilities arise for the firms and potentially individuals within those firms. There are also concerns about the likelihood of appropriate professional indemnity insurance coverage being available to cluster leaders.     

Development and Application of the Specialist Task Organization Procurement Approach

The study focuses on the development of an innovative procurement method in order to improve owners’ contracting strategies. The aim of this paper is to develop a procurement system that improves the overall project implementation process, in order to meet the project objectives of time, cost, and quality. The Specialist Task Organization (STO) approach is suggested based on a constructive research approach, where extensive theoretical development of the STO concept is developed. The analogical validation was carried out through the review of four case study examples in order to find the analogies between the positive outcomes of four case studies and the elements of the STO route. The proposed task-oriented approach utilizes integrated product (task) development, integrated management, and fragmented execution via task organizations. The merits of the STO approach include, the shifting of competition from only single design and cost based to multiple designs, life-cycle costs, alternative materials, and maintainability implications. The STO approach assumes a modular approach to design, and allows experts knowledge in design and construction through their involvement from preconstruction through project starts up. The suggested STO route is a potential tool in realizing complete sustainability in construction in terms of environmental and social sustainability, as well as economic sustainability.     

La relation père-enfant, la nature et l’organisation des relations d’attachement.

Faithfully following the tradition of Bowlby’s theoretical framework, until recently research in developmental psychology has more often confirmed the importance of attachment to mother than to father in their children’s development. Based on this statement, Paquette (2004) proposed a different theoretical model to account for the father’s specific role in children’s development. The purpose of this review of the literature is to examine results of studies including measures of attachment to mother and to father and to answer the questions raised by different theoretical models accounting for the organization of children’s attachment relationships, that is to say hierarchy in children’s attachment to mother and to father, correspondence between the quality of these two relationships and their influence on children’s development. Whether the attachment theoretical framework seems to partially account for the specificity and the complementarity of parental roles, results of the studies reviewed in this article underline the necessity to operationalize the activation dimension of attachment relationships (Paquette, 2004) in order to better understand how children’s attachment relationships to parents do develop and how they do organize themselves to influence children’s development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Formulating Procurement Selection Criteria through Case-Based Reasoning Approach

An appropriate procurement system is a catalyst to the success of a construction project. In practice, the solutions and outcomes of previous procurement selection decisions could be extremely useful in supporting decision making. As a technique that captures and reuses experiential knowledge, case-based reasoning (CBR) has a high potential for modeling the procurement selection decision within a complex dynamic environment. This paper examines the suitability of CBR approaches for procurement selection. The process involved in procurement selection is examined first. A conceptual framework for case-based procurement selection is proposed. The structure of a prototype model on procurement selection criteria (PSC) formulation is presented in this paper. The model applies the CBR approach to procurement criteria selection irrespective of the variability in the characteristics of the client, project, and external environment.     

Explaining Cooperative Behavior in Building and Civil Engineering Projects’ Claims Process: Interactive Effects of Outcome Favorability and Procedural Fairness

Cooperation is fundamental to successful procurement and delivery of building and civil engineering projects. This study explores the role of perceived fairness as a motivator of cooperative behavior in the process for administering project claims. The objective is to investigate how a contractor’s perceptions about fairness of the procedure for administering project claims would interact with the outcome received from the claims to influence the contractor’s cooperative behavior in terms of conflict intensity and potential to dispute. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 41 contractors’ personnel regarding their experience with claims on 41 completed projects in Singapore. The data were analyzed using the structural modeling approach. The results indicate that on projects where contractors did not receive a favorable outcome from claims, there was lower intensity of conflict and lower potential to dispute when contractors perceived that the procedure for administering the claims was fair than when the procedure was perceived to be unfair. The findings suggest that, in construction, cooperative behavior is a combined function of the outcome and procedure leading to that outcome. It also suggests that enhancing cooperative behavior goes beyond formal contract provisions but rather how the contract is administered in practice. It is recommended that employers’ project management team whose actions of rejecting invalid claims may be misinterpreted and disputed pay greater attention to how decisions on claims are reached. A fair procedure could cushion the effect of an unfavorable decision and thereby reduce a contractor’s uncooperative attitude.     

Web-Based Client Advisory Decision Support System for Design–Builder Prequalification

The design–build procurement route is gaining popularity and being extensively used by many clients. Scrutinizing the capabilities of design–build “candidate” organizations (who submit proposals for prequalification/short listing), is a complex task that demands the evaluation of several quantitative and qualitative attributes. The crucial task of design–builder prequalification needs multidisciplinary expertise that often poses tough challenges to many construction clients. A Hong Kong based cross-sectional research study of various international clients’ design–builder selection approaches unveiled several selection strategies and criteria used; and benchmarked some best practices. Based on such consolidated knowledge, a structured design–builder selection model was developed. The conceptualized frameworks for design–builder prequalification are described in this paper. An overview of the development and preliminary validation of a prototype web-based decision support system for design–builder prequalification is also presented in this paper.     

Implementing Total Quality Management in Construction Firms

As building projects get larger and more complex, clients are also increasingly demanding higher standards for their delivery. Total quality management (TQM) has been recognized as a successful management philosophy in the manufacturing and service industries. TQM can likewise be embraced in the construction industry to help raise quality and productivity. Two case studies of construction companies showed how TQM can be successfully implemented in the construction industry. The benefits experienced include reduction in quality costs, better employee job satisfaction because they do not need to attend to defects and client complaints, recognition by clients, work carried out correctly right from the start, subcontractors with proper quality management systems, and closer relationships with subcontractors and suppliers. TQM performance measures were also reflected through top management commitment, customer involvement and satisfaction, employee involvement and empowerment, customer–supplier relationships, and process improvement and management. Finally, a framework for implementing TQM in construction is recommended.     

Optimizing Material Procurement and Storage on Construction Sites

Efficient planning of materials procurement and storage on construction sites can lead to significant improvements in construction productivity and project profitability. Existing research studies focus on material procurement and storage layout as two separate planning tasks without considering their critical and mutual interdependencies. This paper presents the development of a new optimization model for construction logistics planning that is capable of simultaneously integrating and optimizing the critical planning decisions of material procurement and material storage on construction sites. The model utilizes genetic algorithms to minimize construction logistics costs that cover material ordering, financing, stock-out, and layout costs. The model incorporates newly developed algorithms to estimate the impact of potential material shortages on-site because of late delivery on project delays and stock-out costs. An application example is analyzed to demonstrate the capabilities of the construction logistics planning model in simultaneously optimizing material procurement decisions and storage layout plans.     

Contractor Selection for Design∕Build Projects

As traditional construction procurement approaches are found to be inadequate in meeting the demands and challenges of recent times, alternative procurement routes such as through management contracting or build-operate-transfer are increasingly being adopted. Although design∕build is one of the more popular alternative procurement methods that also has a long history, it does not appear to have well-established contractor selection procedures. This paper focuses on developing a model for contractor prequalification and bid evaluation in design∕build projects. For this purpose, it presents a comparative overview of some international practices in the design∕build contractor selection process. The overall objective is to identify the core aspects of selecting a suitable bidder in order to achieve the best “value for money.” The strengths and weaknesses of current practices of contractor selection are highlighted while identifying some of the best practices followed in design∕build projects by various clients.     

Empirical Study of the Risks and Difficulties in Implementing Guaranteed Maximum Price and Target Cost Contracts in Construction

Over the past few decades, both the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and target cost contracting (TCC) arrangements have been regarded as alternative integrated procurement strategies for clients to mitigate risks, minimize claims, integrate the diverse interests of a complex construction project, and offer incentives to provide value-added services. However, the adoption of GMP/TCC contracts may also generate significant risks and difficulties that merit considerable attention. This paper aims to provide a concise review of the potential pitfalls of the GMP/TCC scheme in general and identifies the key risk factors and potential difficulties associated with GMP/TCC in comparison with other procurement strategies in construction in particular via an empirical survey of clients, contractors, and consultants in Hong Kong. The survey data gleaned from 45 valid replies were analyzed using the mean score ranking technique, Kendall’s concordance test, and Spearman’s rank correlation test. The survey results indicated that “involvement of inexperienced or claim-conscious contractors in a project procured by a GMP/TCC contract” was considered to be the most significant risk factor; while “design development must keep pace with main contractor’s program for tendering the domestic subcontractors’ works packages” as the major difficulty in implementing GMP/TCC projects. The research findings derived from this study are particularly essential in assisting the contracting parties to mitigate the detriments brought about by potential risks or difficulties when embarking on GMP/TCC contracts. It has also generated valuable insights into developing effective recommendations for alleviating the barriers to GMP/TCC success for future construction projects.     

Impact of Resources and Strategies on Construction Company Performance

Globalized competition and customer needs forced construction companies to measure their performance beyond the financial measures such as profitability, turnover, etc. As qualitative determinants were added to measurement systems, their investigation and evaluation became a major area of research. In this study, the impact of “resources and capabilities,” “strategic decisions,” “project management competencies,” and “strength of relationships with other parties” on “company performance” was investigated. A questionnaire survey was administered to 73 Turkish contractors and the results of the survey were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that, as expected, resources and capabilities and strategic decisions have an important and direct impact on company performance, whereas project management competencies and strength of relationships with other parties impact company performance only indirectly, through their impact on companies’ resources and capabilities and strategic decisions.     

Experienced therapists’ approach to psychotherapy for adults with attachment avoidance or attachment anxiety.

Interviews were conducted with therapists (N = 12) nominated by peers as especially effective in working with clients with adult interpersonal problems. Open-ended questions asked how these therapists would approach 2 adult clients described in brief vignettes as having high attachment avoidance or anxiety. A coding team used a grounded theory approach to identify 8 higher order themes in the interviews: Conceptualization, Client Defenses, Managing Boundaries, Markers of Progress, Therapist Reactions, Targeted Interventions, Corrective Relational Patterns, and Internal Representations and Models. These themes were integrated into an inclusive theoretical model based on the core concept of therapists’ strategic management of therapeutic distance. The distance necessary to engage clients initially is adjusted later in therapy to create a corrective attachment in the psychotherapy relationship that facilitates change. Therapists described how, after engagement, they gradually increase therapeutic distance for clients with attachment anxiety who must then manage resulting frustration while learning to function more autonomously. Therapists gradually insist on decreased therapeutic distance to help clients with attachment avoidance overcome their fears of intimacy. Therapists discussed the specific techniques they use to manage therapeutic distance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer satisfaction and perceived quality: Complementary or divergent constructs?

Conflicting models exist in the literature of the process through which perceived quality and/or satisfaction affect behavioral intentions. Further, virtually no theoretical framework has been explicitly developed to help combine perceived quality models with satisfaction models. This article applies a theoretical framework to help build a model that attempts to explain the relationships among disconfirmation of expectations, perceived quality, satisfaction, perceived situational control, and behavioral intentions. The study compares the ability of two models to help explain the relationship among these variables. The results of the study suggest that the focal and contextual dimensions of disconfirmation of expectations affect perceived quality enroute to their influence on behavioral intentions. Additionally, the results indicate that perceived quality affects satisfaction and behavioral intentions are affected by satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contractual Management in PPP Projects: Evaluation of Legal versus Relational Contracting for Service Delivery

The paper explores the extent to which effective relationships and legal factors are used to determine performance outcomes in public–private-partnership (PPP) procurement in the United Kingdom. The purpose is to demonstrate means for service improvement on PPP projects. PPP was formerly the public finance initiative for the construction and operation of complex services and facilities. Design, build, finance, and operate and design, build, and operate type contracts are considered. A legal-relational continuum is developed, relationships being assessed in terms of trust as an indicator of robustness, data being mobilized through action research and quantitative survey methods. It was found that there is variance in the perceived trustworthiness of clients in the context of their understanding and experience of PPP, and variance in support given to staff by their departments in developing relations was found to affect performance. A long-term tendency was identified to relinquish partnership relations in favor of legal and potentially adversarial contracting. Relationship management principles were also found to be lacking in both the public and private sector, relational contracting being predominantly reliant upon the behavior of individuals in their teams.     

Contractors’ Competition Strategies in Bidding: Hong Kong Study

Selecting an appropriate competition strategy in bidding is the ambition of most contractors. The multiple requirements of clients encourage contractors to consider other strategies to deliver additional benefits besides offering a low-price bid. Offering low bids will reduce contractors’ profits and potentially make development less attractive. Contractors need to understand their specific resources that generate competitive advantage and accordingly develop strategies to win contracts. This paper reports the findings from a recent survey on competition strategies in the Hong Kong construction industry. Thirteen typical bidding strategies, their used frequency in bidding, and their effectiveness for winning contracts of different types and between different groups of contractors are studied. The analysis of findings is explored to provide local contractors and clients with new insights into competition strategies in bidding.     

Knowledge-Driven ANP Approach to Vendors Evaluation for Sustainable Construction

This paper presents a multicriteria decision-making approach to evaluate contractor candidates in the open competition of construction project procurement by means of a knowledge-framed analytic network process (KANP), which embeds a construction knowledge framework into a formal analytic network process procedure. An applied KANP model named KANP.BID is set up and used in an experimental case study. The paper concludes that the KANP.BID model is a viable and capable tool for selecting the most appropriate tender alternative under criteria of sustainable construction. It is expected that the proposed KANP.BID model can attract interest from both practitioners and researchers in terms of further research and development.