Valuing the contribution of knowledge-oriented workers to projects: a merit based approach in the construction industry

Arashpour, Mehrdad; Shabanikia, Majeed; Arashpour, Mohammadreza

doi:10.5130/ajceb.v12i4.2724

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In such cases, use of plan buffers and flexible capacity can mitigate workflow variability on the manufacturing floor [42]. Flexible capacity can be achieved by using multi-skilled resources or intentional underutilization of production capacity [43][44][45]. Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous production tracking for augmenting output in off-site construction

Arashpour

Wakefield

Blismas

et al. 2015

Automation in Construction

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Problems in existing methods of production tracking in off-site construction result in schedule delays and increased costs. To eliminate these deficiencies, an autonomous production tracking that analyzes real-time production data is proposed. A specific implementation of the proposed production tracking mechanisms has been developed for a large off-site construction plant in Australia, and is in the process of installation. The paper shows that: (i) The production model in off-site construction is always nonlinear in the outcome due to the presence of variability (ii) in systems with a periodic production target, deviation from the schedule converges to zero at the end of production period and the same downward trend should be followed in designing plan buffers and (iii) long-term production performance in off-site construction can autonomously be monitored and controlled by observing critical variables of production. The paper provides those who manage off-site construction with recommendations on effective production tracking and management. The models and propositions in this research are of practical value and can be used to detect impending production shortfalls against periodic targets in the short-term, and adjust capacity parameters and production targets in long-term planning.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous production tracking for augmenting output in off-site construction

Arashpour

Wakefield

Blismas

et al. 2015

Automation in Construction

Self Cite

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“…Construction schedules are prone to a high level of delay due to the dynamic environment. Delay can result from: (1) external causes outside the project environment, such as extreme weather conditions (El-Adaway 2012) and nonstationary market demand (Ahmad 1999;Barriga et al 2005), and (2) internal causes related to the project, such as workforce motivation (Han et al 2008;Arashpour et al 2012) and quality issues causing rework (Josephson et al 2002;Love and Smith 2003). Wambeke et al (2011) administered a nationwide survey in the US to identify the most prevalent causes of task starting time and duration delay.…”

Section: Construction Task Delaymentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does Experience with Delay Shape Managers’ Making-Do Decision: Random Forest Approach

Zhang¹,

Javanmardi

Yan-chun³

et al. 2020

J. Manage. Eng.

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Making-do, a decision to start a construction task despite knowing that its preconditions are not fully ready, is a complex dilemma for construction managers. Managers' previous making-do decisions and the resulting consequence, delay, can have a significant impact on future making-do decisions. To understand how managers' experience with delay impacts their making-do decision and how it is handled differently in different countries, two surveys were administered, one in China and one in the United States (US), and 260 usable responses were collected. This study used: (1) the Mann-Whitney U test to examine whether delaying task starting time, when lacking precondition readiness, pays off with shorter delays; (2) a random forest approach to find important causes of delay that contribute to a making-do decision; and (3) an entropy-based decision tree to determine how much uncertainty in making-do decisions can be reduced by knowing managers' experience with delays in past projects. Results showed that in the United States, managers who preferred the making-do approach experienced up to 60% less task duration delay; whereas Chinese managers who preferred making-do experienced up to 100% more task duration delay due to lack of readiness in labor, equipment, material, management, and information flow. The contributions to the body of knowledge are the development of a random forest approach to quantitatively examine the relative importance of the causes of delay to the making-do decision and to reveal the fundamental differences in culture and management traditions that cause the difference between the two countries. The methods presented in this study will enable others to use a similar random forest approach repetitively for classification, prediction, and variable selection problems in civil engineering. The findings of this study will help project managers better understand underlying factors that trigger making-do decisions in China and the United States, and have more efficient collaboration and communication when they work on projects located in a foreign country.

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“…Despite this growth, construction projects in developing countries are fraught with low productivity and frequent work stoppages (Ghoddousi et al, 2014). This low productivity has been exacerbated by low retention of employees (Arashpour, Shabanikia and Arashpour, 2012) and by construction practitioners who lack the prerequisite skills (Tabassi and Bakar, 2009). Furthermore, as a developing country, Iranian construction projects are prone to a wide range of uncertainties (Ebrahimnejad, Mousavi and Seyrafianpour, 2010) and market volatilities (Fereidouni, 2011).…”

Section: Construction Projects In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Integration of RM knowledge areas within training programmes for licensed engineers: Formally include knowledge requirements relating to RM in the curriculum of compulsory training programmes for licensed engineers. According to Arashpour, Shabanikia and Arashpour (2012), the Iranian construction industry is traditionally at the mercy of engineers. Thus, the strength of the construction industry in terms of implementing RM relies on the limited knowledge and abilities of engineers in the management sciences, including RM (Ghahramanzadeh, 2013).…”

Section: Recommended Solutions and Guidelines For Ramp Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Barriers to Implementing Risk Assessment and Management Practices (RAMP) in the Iranian Construction Sector

Chileshe¹,

Hosseini²,

Jepson³

2016

JCDC

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Late completions, frequent work stoppages and cost overruns are common issues in developing countries. Effective risk management (RM) can be utilised to address these common construction issues; however, the uptake of risk management within the Iranian construction industry, as in many developing nations, is limited. This study explored why RM is not used through a questionnaire survey of 90 professionals in the Iranian construction industry. The findings show that professionals in the industry perceive the three greatest barriers to be (1) a lack of experience among practitioners, (2) the lack of available risk management consultants and (3) a lack of knowledge and necessary skills. In contrast, the professionals believed that the least common barriers were tight scheduling of projects and costs associated with risk management implementation. No significant differences were found between the perceptions of the three sub-groups-contractors, consultants and clients (private and public)-regarding the barriers to risk management. The study contributes to the field by providing insights into what causes the low level of implementation of risk assessment and management practices (RAMP) in Iran. It is anticipated that this type of study will result in raising the level of awareness about practices designed to improve risk management in developing countries. The study advocates a number of solutions for addressing the identified barriers. These solutions can be implemented or used as guidelines by construction companies and policy makers in other developing countries confronting similar problems.

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Valuing the contribution of knowledge-oriented workers to projects: a merit based approach in the construction industry

Cited by 17 publications

References 30 publications

Autonomous production tracking for augmenting output in off-site construction

Autonomous production tracking for augmenting output in off-site construction

How Does Experience with Delay Shape Managers’ Making-Do Decision: Random Forest Approach

Critical Barriers to Implementing Risk Assessment and Management Practices (RAMP) in the Iranian Construction Sector

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