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Purpose: Construction in Malta is generally characterised by small projects operated through fragmented contractual ties and limited technological advances. Through this study, the authors aim to examine the impact of changing client requirements on local construction, analyse the impact of these shifts on project expectations and explore how client requirements can be integrated into the ongoing design phases during the life cycle of the structure. Using a multi-million-euro, multi-phase residential, commercial, and redevelopment construction project as a case study, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of the short-term disruptions and long-term impacts while considering the implications for trade-offs.

Methodology: A mixed-methods approach was used to conduct the analysis. Qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews showed that projects have different impacts on relationships even when the same organisations work on different trades within the same project. The quantitative data collected was used to analyse the variations caused by trade-offs from the original contracted work packages. The case study setting represents an example of a phenomenological methodology. It adapts existing theories to interpret what happens by examining an example of a phenomenon of interest. Although the conclusions cannot be generalised to the whole construction industry, its merit is that it addresses relationships and processes and is therefore ‘holistic’ rather than limited to isolated factors.

Findings: The findings, illustrate the effects or factors supported by the empirical data towards the main framework that supports the research study model for mapping trade-offs. The model is presented as a three-dimensional framework illustrating the dynamics of objectives, considerations, and time across project life cycles, and goes beyond the control parameters of the project management, cost, quality, and time triangle.

Conclusion: A set of recommendations are presented in relation to the drawing up of project briefs, procurement strategies, and the limitations and implications of embedding client changes.

Fluctuations in the tender price index have an adverse effect on the construction sector and the economy at large. This is largely due to the positive relationship that exists between the construction industry and economic growth. The consequences of these variations include cost overruns and schedule delays, among others. An accurate forecast of the tender price index is good for controlling the uncertainty associated with its variation. In the present study, the efficacy of using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for tender price forecasting is investigated. In addition, the Box–Jenkins model, which is considered a benchmark technique, was used to evaluate the performance of the ANFIS model. The results demonstrate that the ANFIS model is superior to the Box–Jenkins model in terms of the accuracy and reliability of the forecast. The ANFIS could provide an accurate and reliable forecast of the tender price index in the medium term (i.e. over a three-year period). This chapter provides evidence of the advantages of applying nonlinear modelling techniques (such as the ANFIS) to tender price index forecasting. Although the proposed ANFIS model is applied to the tender price index in this study, it can also be applied to a wider range of problems in the field of construction engineering and management.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

This study examines challenges to the retrospective financial evaluation of continuous improvement (CI) activities. Through a review of the literature and active engagement with CI implementations, we identify several issues that may lead to divergence between operational and financial assessments. Out of this conflict emerges a set of concepts that we find important − the delineation of soft versus hard capacity benefits, the distinction between capacity used and capacity paid for, and the data gaps that relate to these benefits – and recognize operational improvement and financial improvement as distinct, yet interrelated, theoretical constructs. This study helps explain a series of persistent gaps in the management accounting literature: Conflict between operations and accounting managers, the divergent perspectives of Johnson and Kaplan after their publication of Relevance Lost (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987), and the need for both operational control (including detailed capacity control) and accounting control in CI firms. Instead of one control system being at odds with the other, or co-existing despite each other, each of these systems support a different component of the financial improvement process. Operational control systems in CI firms emphasize non-financial information and social and behavioral controls that empower decision-making by employees, while accounting control systems seek to motivate and translate operational gains into financial gains. Soft and hard benefits linked to capacity play an integral role in understanding the difference in focus of each control system, while data limitations help to explain why these systems remain loosely coupled in practice (or absent, as seems to be the case with detailed Capacity Management Systems).