Editorial

Chimay Anumba (Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.)

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN: 0969-9988

Article publication date: 16 March 2015

217

Citation

Anumba, C. (2015), "Editorial", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 22 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-01-2015-0016

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Volume 22, Issue 2.

I would like to start my maiden editorial by paying tribute to the originators of ECAM. Professor Ronald McCaffer, the Founding Editor, had the foresight to start a journal devoted to engineering, construction and architectural management over 22 years ago when there were very few journals that sought to bring these fields together. His vision has resulted in a powerful vehicle for knowledge sharing and discourse within the architecture, engineering and construction industry. Professor Antony Thorpe served as Deputy Editor of ECAM for many years and, while his current responsibilities do not allow him much time, he has kindly agreed to remain on the editorial team as Speciality Editor.

The future for ECAM is bright with a new and expanded editorial team, which is committed to renewing and reinvigorating the Editorial Board, and moving the journal to the next level. Over the next few years, the editorial team will seek to make continuous improvements in all aspects of the journal and would welcome suggestions from authors, readers and the broader community of scholars and practitioners. We intend to reduce the cycle time, improve responsiveness and enhance the quality of papers, while also working towards improved recognition of ECAM by relevant indices.

This Issue of ECAM has a set of six very interesting papers form several countries. The first paper by Singh and Holmstrom describe an investigation of the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) based on Maslow’s motivational theory on the hierarchy of needs. Using a variety of research methods, they found that, in addition to individuals, organizations also demonstrate hierarchical ordering of innovation related needs. This is considered useful in understanding BIM adoption decisions of both individuals and organizations.

Alharbi, Emmitt and Demian seek to provide a pragmatic definition of “Architectural Management” based on systematic research with architectural practices. Using a combination of literature reviews, questionnaire surveys and analysis, they derive a new definition of Architectural Management, which they subsequently tested with researchers and practitioners, and refined to new definition that is expected to provide a common understanding for all those working in this field.

Ling et al. address the adoption of relational contracting practices in public projects in Singapore and its impact on the quality of relationships between clients and contractors, contractors and consultants, and clients and consultants. Based on questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews, they established that certain relational contracting practices lead to significantly higher quality of interpersonal relationships between client, contractors and consultants.

Aibinu et al.’s paper is concerned with cost estimation for electric light and power elements during early building design using a neural network approach. Based on data mining over 200 building projects, they determined that cost forecasting models based on artificial neural networks are appropriate alternatives to regression models for predicting the cost of building services elements. The developed models were incorporated into a software application for use by construction professionals.

The use of a fuzzy-set based model for contingency modelling in construction projects is the focus of the paper by Salah and Moselhi. They use fuzzy-set theory to design and develop a contingency modelling framework that accounts for the uncertainties associated with the development phases of projects. This approach, it is argued, provides capabilities beyond those possible with Monte Carlo simulation methods, and is applicable to the project lifecycle.

The last paper in this set is by Rajeh, Tookey and Rotimi who discuss the estimation of the transaction costs for different procurement systems used in construction projects in New Zealand. They developed a conceptual model that formed the basis of a questionnaire survey to establish the relationship between procurement systems and transaction costs. The survey findings were then subjected to a set of tests and analyses, including structural equation modelling (SEM). They conclude that procurement systems have a direct impact on transaction costs and this has implications for procurement system selection.

Chimay Anumba

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