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This study aims at improving the constructability of design solutions by inte grating site construction problems, which are related to the design, with the design's main functions. A full process analysis was carried out on the design functions of concrete framed office buildings whereby site problems were traced back to the relevant design stages. Design processes that significantly contribute to these problems were highlighted, along with their data flows. An object‐oriented analysis (OOA) method was then applied to model those processes. Proceedings through the five major activities of Coad & Yourdon's OOA method, a complete OOA model was developed. This technique has proved to be very effective in producing a well structured data model with the consequence of being easily mapped into an object‐oriented development environment. An integrated object‐oriented system was also developed, which attempts to use essential design information, at an early stage of the design process, to improve the constructability of the design.

The AIC Research Group at the University of Salford has been involved in a government‐funded project that has resulted in the development of an integrated multi‐user distributed construction project database through the implementation of next‐generation Internet technology together with Product Data Technology ‐ WISPER. The objective of the project was to develop a working system capable of demonstrating the future direction of information integration with the project partners' businesses. This paper presents the development of the specification application that aims to demonstrate the potential for such technologies to enhance the specification process, enabling design elements to be specified directly from a building product database Web site.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a continuous improvement approach for clients to improve their performance and to maximise the benefits gained from building information modelling (BIM) over time. The role of client organisations is considered to be very important to accelerate the implementation of BIM. To do this, they need to clearly understand the implementation mechanisms; determine the level of change required within their organisations; and evaluate how best they can achieve this change. The paper’s concept is based on identifying BIM requirements and documenting them in an Employer Information Requirements (EIR) document based on their capability and maturity to deliver and manage BIM.

The continuous improvement approach is based on introducing gradual details to the client’s EIR, depending on the capability and maturity of the client organisation and their supply chain. The approach uses BSI B/555 maturity levels as a baseline for improvement.

A structured approach for client organisations is presented. This helps them to gradually improve their performance towards BIM implementation, taking into consideration their capability and maturity level.

The proposed approach is new to industry and could contribute to the efforts of the industry in reaching higher BSI B/555 maturity levels with minimal risks.

The purpose of this paper is to identify critical sustainability factors for improved implementation of industrialised building systems (IBS). It also aims to highlight the importance of decision support, through the establishment of decision‐making guidelines, for sustainability deliverables in IBS development.

A broad range of sustainability factors, as perceived by researchers and practitioners, is identified through a comprehensive literature study. A study of the survey and statistical data analysis is conducted to examine the criticality of these sustainability factors in IBS implementation.

In total, 18 sustainability factors are identified as critical to IBS implementation. Their interrelationships and driving forces are explored, which leads to the development of a conceptual model to map these factors for actions or potential solutions. The work provides a sound basis towards a set of decision‐making guidelines for sustainable IBS implementation.

Compared with previous research that focuses on technical or economical aspects, this research extends existing knowledge on construction prefabrication by linking all aspects of sustainability issues with the design process. It also covers industry characteristics of developing countries, as represented by Malaysia's scenarios.

Humans tend to rely on beliefs, assumptions and cognitive rules‐of‐thumb for making judgments and are biased against taking more uncertain alternatives. Such inertia has implications for client organizations' decision making about innovations, which are inherently more uncertain than conventional alternatives. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to furthering the understanding of barriers to overcoming inertia in client decision making in new‐build.

A descriptive behavioural decision‐making perspective is combined with an organizational information‐processing perspective. To identify and discuss individual and organizational barriers that potentially distort clients' decision making on innovation, the analysis addresses aggregated data from four studies. The analysis focuses on inferences and interpretations made by decision makers in Swedish client organizations, their information‐processing practices and the subsequent impacts on perceived meanings and judgments about industrialized multi‐storey, timber‐framed building innovations, which are perceived by Swedish clients as new and different building alternatives.

Cognitive and organizational barriers maintain status‐quo decisions. Clients are inclined to make biased judgments about industrialized‐building alternatives because non‐applicable cognitive rules‐of‐thumb, based on their experiences of conventional‐building alternatives, are used. Furthermore, client organizations' information‐processing practices do not allow different meanings to surface, interact and potentially suggest different conclusions, at odds with established beliefs.

The paper's conclusions highlight how inertia is sustained in client decision making in new‐build. They illustrate the limitations of a common engineering approach, i.e. supporting decision making about innovations by focusing on providing more information to the decision maker in order to reduce uncertainty, as well as managing multiple meanings by reductionism.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the major management issues that impact on mega transportation infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identify the factors that cause unsuccessful project completions. The paper further seeks to identify the changes that can be made to improve project success.

This is a qualitative study that involved face‐to‐face interviews with 20 key experienced transportation construction stakeholders who had been involved in a number of different projects in the UAE. This was followed by a focus group discussion involving ten key stakeholders who had been involved in the construction of a mega project – the Dubai Fujairah Highway. Analysis of the interview data was conducted using NVivo.

The findings highlight the complexity involved in managing mega transportation infrastructure projects in the UAE. Multiple stakeholders (government agencies, sponsors/clients, management firms, consultants and contractors) influence the various stages of projects. The need for effective communication, coordination, knowledge sharing and decision making amongst the stakeholders, especially during the planning and design stages, is highlighted as critical.

The main limitation is the small numbers interviewed for each stakeholder group. Nevertheless, the sample of interviews provides a good representation of the transport infrastructure construction industry in the UAE.

Three major practical implications relate to: improving communication and coordination amongst government departments and key stakeholders to streamline effective knowledge sharing and decision making, leading to successful project outcomes; improving the skills and competencies of professional staff at all levels and subsequently delegating authority to lower levels; and the adoption of global international standards to improve planning, design and construction activities.

The paper describes the first study of its kind conducted in the UAE that provides valuable insights with respect to transportation infrastructure project management.

Aims to present an alternative holistic measurement model, the general practitioner IS (GPIS) measurement model, which assists managers in determining the organisation's state of readiness prior to IS investment.

The model is based on assessing four organisational key elements: IT infrastructure, processes, people and work environment.

Presents a classification of the current IS success measurement approaches. The existing approaches were classified into three categories: product‐based, process‐based, and general maturity‐based. The paper highlighted their shortcomings and explained the need for an alternative holistic model to measure IS success in contributing to the business objectives. This has led to the development of a quick reference model “GPIS” to enable organisations to determine their current and required state of readiness for a particular IS project.

The paper presents a novel categorisation of the literature in this field.

The construction industry has been criticized for not keeping up with other production industries in terms of cost efficiency, innovation, and production methods. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about what hampers efficiency in supplying engineer‐to‐order (ETO) joinery‐products to the construction process. The objective is to identify the main contributors to inefficiency and to define areas for innovation in improving this industry.

Case studies of the supply chain of a Swedish ETO joinery‐products supplier are carried out, and observations, semi‐structured interviews, and documents from these cases are analysed from an efficiency improvement perspective.

From a lean thinking and information modelling perspective, longer‐term procurement relations and efficient communication of information are the main areas of innovation for enhancing the efficiency of supplying ETO joinery‐products. It seems to be possible to make improvements in planning and coordination, assembly information, and spatial measuring through information modelling and spatial scanning technology. This is likely to result in an increased level of prefabrication, decreased assembly time, and increased predictability of on‐site work.

The role of supplying ETO joinery‐products is a novel research area in construction. There is a need to develop each segment of the manufacturing industry supplying construction and this paper contributes to the collective knowledge in this area. The focus is on the possibilities for innovation in the ETO joinery‐products industry and on its improved integration in the construction industry value chain in general.