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The aim of this paper is to make an attempt to find good values of onsite–offshore team strength; number of hours of communication between business users and onsite team and between onsite and offshore team to reduce cost and improve schedule for re-engineering projects in global software development environment.

The system dynamics technique is used for simulation model construction and policy run experimentation. The experts from Indian software outsourcing industry were consulted for model construction, validation and analysis of policy run results in both co-located and distributed software development environment.

The study results show that there is a drop in the overall team productivity in outsourcing environment by considering the offshore options. But the project cost can be reduced by employing the offshore team for coding and testing work only with minimal training for imparting business knowledge. The research results show that there is a potential to save project cost by being flexible in project schedule.

The study found that there could be substantial cost saving for re-engineering projects with a loss of project schedule when an appropriate onsite–offshore combination is used. The quality and productivity drop, however, were rather small for such combinations. The cost savings are high when re-engineering work is sent to offshore location entirely after completion of requirement analysis work at onsite location and providing training to offshore team in business knowledge The research findings show that there is potential to make large cost savings by being flexible in project schedule for re-engineering projects.

The software project manager can use the model results to divide the software team between onsite and offshore location during various phases of software development in distributed environment.

The study is novel as there is little attempt at finding the team distribution between onsite and offshore location in global software development environment.

Traditionally, progress in detail engineering in construction projects is reported based on estimates and manual input from the disciplines in the engineering team. Reporting progress on activities in an engineering schedule manually, based on subjective evaluations, is time consuming and can reduce accuracy, especially in larger and multi-disciplinary projects. How can progress in detail engineering be reported using BIM and connected to activities in an engineering schedule? The purpose of this paper is to introduce a three-step process for reporting progress in detail engineering using building information modeling (BIM) to minimize manual reporting and increase quality and accuracy.

The findings of this paper are based on the studies of experiences from the execution of projects in the oil and gas industry. Data are collected from an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and two engineering contractors using case study research.

In the first step, control objects in building information models are introduced. Statuses are added to control objects to fulfill defined quality levels related to milestones. In the second step, the control objects with statuses are used to report visual progress and aggregated in an overall progress report. In the third step, overall progress from building information models are connected to activities in an engineering schedule.

Existing research works related to monitoring and reporting progress using a BIM focus on construction and not on detail engineering. The research demonstrates that actual progress in detail engineering can be visualized and reported through the use of BIM and extracted to activities in an engineering schedule through a three-step process.

Due to the increasing size and complexity of construction projects, construction engineering and management involves the coordination of many complex and dynamic processes and relies on the analysis of uncertain, imprecise and incomplete information, including subjective and linguistically expressed information. Various modelling and computing techniques have been used by construction researchers and applied to practical construction problems in order to overcome these challenges, including fuzzy hybrid techniques. Fuzzy hybrid techniques combine the human-like reasoning capabilities of fuzzy logic with the capabilities of other techniques, such as optimization, machine learning, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) and simulation, to capitalise on their strengths and overcome their limitations. Based on a review of construction literature, this chapter identifies the most common types of fuzzy hybrid techniques applied to construction problems and reviews selected papers in each category of fuzzy hybrid technique to illustrate their capabilities for addressing construction challenges. Finally, this chapter discusses areas for future development of fuzzy hybrid techniques that will increase their capabilities for solving construction-related problems. The contributions of this chapter are threefold: (1) the limitations of some standard techniques for solving construction problems are discussed, as are the ways that fuzzy methods have been hybridized with these techniques in order to address their limitations; (2) a review of existing applications of fuzzy hybrid techniques in construction is provided in order to illustrate the capabilities of these techniques for solving a variety of construction problems and (3) potential improvements in each category of fuzzy hybrid technique in construction are provided, as areas for future research.

It is estimated that more than half of the construction industry’s projects encounter significant cost overruns and major delays, resulting in the industry having a tarnished reputation. Therefore, it is crucial to identify key project cost and schedule performance factors. However, despite the attempts of numerous researchers, their results have been inconsistent. Most of the literature has focused solely on the construction phase budget and time overruns; the engineering/design and procurement phase costs and schedule performances have been rarely studied. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The objective of this study was primarily to identify and prioritize engineering, procurement and construction key performance factors (KPFs) and to strategize ways to prevent performance delays and cost overruns. To achieve these objectives, more than 200 peer-reviewed journal papers, conference proceedings and other scholarly publications were studied and categorized based on industry type, physical location, data collection and analysis methods.

It was concluded that both the time required to complete engineering/construction phases and the cost of completing them can be significantly affected by design changes. The two main causes of delays and cost overruns in the procurement phase are construction material shortages and price fluctuations. Other factors affecting all phases of the project are poor economic condition, equipment and labor shortages, delays in owners’ timely decision making, poor communication between stakeholders, poor site management and supervision, clients’ financial issues and severe weather conditions. A list of phase-based strategies which address the issue of time/cost overruns is presented herein.

The findings of this study address the potential confusion of the industry’s practitioners related to the inconsistent list of potential KPFs and their preventive measurements, and pave the way for the construction research community to conduct future performance-related studies.

This paper aims to propose a new tri-parameter bidding model integrating cost, time and risk. The key value of the model is that it remains within the framework of the competitive bidding system while controlling the risk resulting from float loss.

The model utilizes stochastic scheduling to quantify the float loss impact at the project level. Prospective bidders are evaluated based on their total combined bid (TCB) including cost, time and risk. The risk parameter is calculated as the relative risk between the bidder’s schedule and the client’s baseline schedule.

The results confirmed that choosing the contractor based on the lowest price and time reduces the available float and increases the schedule risks. The probability of completing the project on time dropped from 46 per cent for the baseline schedule to 19 per cent for the bidder with the most compressed schedule. The selected bidder, using the proposed model, has the lowest TCB of cost, time and risk. Results show that adding the risk parameter in the evaluation changed the ranking of the bidders.

The model does not discuss all project risks that the contractor retains. It focuses on schedule risks that result from shortening project duration. The model focuses on solving the problem with price plus time bidding method by addressing the schedule risk issue. Other criteria, such as sustainability, are not considered.

The proposed model encourages contractors to pay more attention to the time parameter and the schedule risks resulting from aggressive reduction in project duration.

Problems arose, in the current complex construction industry, as owners rely solely on price as the award criterion. Recently, the bi-parameter bidding system, A + B, introduced the time parameter to the awarding criteria. However, reducing the project duration by compressing the schedule consumes the float of non-critical activities, which reduces the schedule flexibility of a project. The proposed model allows clients to evaluate potential bidders objectively. Rather than evaluating the bidders based on price, in the conventional low bid system, or based on price and time, as in the A + B system, the bidders are evaluated based on three parameters: price, time and risk.

Engineering employers are discovering that their workforce requires certain skills which seem to be in short supply. Rapid technological change, participative management and employee empowerment, global competition, and other workplace innovations have created a demand for a higher skill level for engineering graduates. Identifying industry expectations for engineering graduates are an important step in developing university curricula which are responsive to the needs of the profession. The present study identifies specific industry expectations for new engineering graduates and provides practical recommendations for strategically aligning engineering curricula with the professional community. By identifying specific skills requisite for career success, universities can provide an improved service for their graduates and the engineering industry.

A project contractor can promote the success of a delivery project by planning the project well and following a project management methodology (PMM). However, various changes typically take place, requiring changes to the project plan and actions that deviate from the firm’s established PMM. The purpose of this paper is to explore different types of changes and change management activities over the lifecycle of delivery projects.

A qualitative single case study design was used. In total, 17 semi-structured interviews were carried out during a delivery project in a medium-sized engineering company that delivers complex systems to industrial customers.

Both plan-related changes and deviations from the PMM were mapped throughout the project lifecycle. Various internal and external sources of change were identified. An illustrative example of the interconnectedness of the changes reveals the potential escalation of changes over the project lifecycle. Managers and project personnel engage in different change management activities and improvisation to create alternative paths, re-plan, catch up, and optimize project performance after changes.

The empirical study is limited to a single case study setting and a single industry. The findings draw attention to the interconnectedness and potential escalation effect of changes over the lifecycle of the project, and the need for integrated change management and improvisation actions.

Efficient change management and improvisation at the early phase of a delivery project can potentially mitigate negative change incidents in later project phases. Changes are not only the project manager’s concern; project personnel’s skilled change responses are also helpful. The findings emphasize the importance of the project customer as a source of changes in delivery projects, meaning that customer relationship management throughout the project lifecycle is needed for successful change management.

The study offers increased understanding of changes and change management throughout the project lifecycle. The results show evidence of plan-related and methodology-related changes and their interconnections, thereby proposing a lifecycle view of integrated change management and improvisation in projects.

The purpose of this paper is to address the gap between definition and practical aspects of production efficiency in mass customization (MC). The paper summarizes all major issues impacting efficiency in MC. Also, the paper reviews metrics, relationship between various parameters and provides a best practices benchmark toolkit to achieve higher machine efficiencies.

The paper identified and categorized multiple challenges impacting machine efficiency in MC through a literature review spanning over three decades, and also ranked the identified issue-based parameters. Top issues were found varying across different types of industries identified through the review. Metrics pertaining to efficiency and degree of MC are reviewed in the paper. A chronological review of issues is presented, and a chain diagram is built in the paper. Toolkit of best practices created with solution strategies and tools are summarized through the review.

The paper found that MC reasonably impacts machine efficiency which needs to be addressed. Major issues through literature review-based ranking are uncovered, and worldwide research trend and comparison are presented. Active research in this area is observed to be at its peak since 2010. The extensive use of strategies and benchmark toolkit for improving efficiency are summarized.

Ranking of issues has been done through a literature review; hence, there can be skewness depending on the frequency of issues researched by various authors in various areas of industries.

This paper is useful for manufacturing managers and companies willing to increase the size of their product portfolio and choices within their available resources without compromising machine efficiencies and, thereby, the cost. The identified issues help in providing a comprehensive issue list to the academia.

This paper describes what is believed to be the first study that explicitly examines the issues faced in achieving machine efficiency while manufacturing in an MC environment.

EXPERIMENTAL, engineering may be considered as the cornerstone of the aeronautical industry, regardless of the fact that the very nature of the work involved often calls for large expenditures without prospect of immediate return. Unlike engineering, the sales of a new model are not answerable to any known formulæ, making it necessary to consider that all capital invested in an experimental project may be lost, unless sales sufficient to defray all development costs are realized.

The traditional practice for maintenance, quality control and production scheduling is to plan independently irrespective of an interrelationship exist between them. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach for integrating maintenance, quality control and production scheduling. The objective is to investigate the benefits of the integrated effect in terms of the expected total cost of system operation of the three functions.

The proposed approach is based on the conditional reliability of the components. Cost model for integrating selective maintenance, quality control using sampling-based procedure and production scheduling is developed using the conditional reliability. An integrated approach is such that, first an optimal schedule for the batches to be processed is obtained independently while the maintenance and quality control decisions are optimized considering the optimal schedule on the machine. The expected total cost of conventional approach, i.e. “No integration” is calculated to compare the effectiveness of integrated approach.

The integrated approach have shown a higher cost saving as compared to the independent planning approach. The approach is practical to implement as the results are obtained in a reasonable computational time.

The approach presented in this paper is generic and can be applied at planned as well as unplanned opportunities. The proposed integrated approach is dynamic in nature, as during maintenance opportunities, it is possible to optimize the decision on maintenance, quality control and production scheduling considering the current age of components and production requirement.

The originality of the paper is in the approach for integration of the three elements of shop floor operations that are usually treated separately and rarely touched upon by researchers in the literature.