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The purpose of this paper is to examine how certain limitations of the current approaches to planning and scheduling of aircraft heavy maintenance can be addressed using a single integrated framework supported by unified data structures.

The “unitary structuring technique”, originally developed within the context of manufacturing planning and control, is further enhanced for aircraft heavy maintenance applications, taking into account the uncertainty associated with condition‐based maintenance. The proposed framework delivers the advanced functionalities required for simultaneous and dynamic forward planning of maintenance operations, as well as finite loading of resources, towards optimising the overall maintenance performance.

Execution of maintenance operations under uncertainty involves materials changes, rectification and re‐assembly. It is shown that re‐scheduling of materials (spare‐parts), resources and operations can be taken care of by simultaneous and dynamic forward planning of materials and operations with finite loading of resources, using the integrated framework.

As part of adopting the proposed framework in practice, it needs to be guided by an overall methodology appropriate for application‐specific contexts.

The potential direct benefits of adopting the proposed framework include on‐time project completion, reduced inventory levels of spare‐parts and reduced overtime costs.

Existing approaches to aircraft maintenance planning and scheduling are limited in their capacity to deal with contingencies arising out of inspections carried out during the execution phase of large maintenance projects. The proposed integrated approach is, capable of handling uncertainty associated with condition‐based maintenance, due to the added functionalities referred to above.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore alternative coping strategies that may compensate for the limitations of weak governance structure in a product development project.

The findings are based on a single case study, including interviews and documents, of a product development project that consists of two interlinked projects in a large multinational company.

Two distinct procedures are identified to cope and manage effectively when there are weak project governance structures. The first procedure is a horizontal process of operational consensus-seeking where conflicts between projects are negotiated and resolved through communication between independent actors such as two project managers who are at the same hierarchical level within the same organization. The second process is a vertical process of strategic escalation where issues that have failed to be resolved are shifted upwards to a new hierarchical level where a new round of operational consensus-seeking is attempted.

This paper complements the existing understanding of project governance with a project-as-practice perspective. Based on the findings the authors suggest that project governance needs to be nuanced in its understanding since a too-structured approach may in fact increase tensions in an organization.

Practical insights include how organizations may work with its project governance structures in order to avoid tensions. The authors suggest that, in particular, politically sensitive situations may be avoided by weak rather than strong governance structures.

The authors find that weak governance structures may be efficient for the organization, but harmful to personnel, who become too focused on the task at hand.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge very little research has been attributed to project governance from a practice approach. Moreover, most attention has been given to strong structures, thereby not examining the positive implications of weak structures.

Risk identification often produces nothing more than a long list of risks, which can be hard to understand or manage. The list can be prioritised to determine which risks should be addressed first, but this does not provide any insight into the structure of risk on the project. Traditional qualitative assessment cannot indicate those areas of the project which require special attention, or expose recurring themes, concentrations of risk, or ‘hot‐spots’ of risk exposure. The best way to deal with a large amount of data is to structure the information to aid comprehension. For risk management, this can be achieved with a Risk Breakdown Structure )RBS) a hierarchical structuring of risks on the project. The RBS can assist in understanding the distribution of risk on a project or across a business, aiding effective risk management. Just as the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important tool for projects because it scopes and defines the work, so the RBS can be an invaluable aid in understanding risk. The WBS forms the basis for many aspects of the project management process; similarly, the RBS can be used to structure and guide the risk management process. This paper presents the concept of the RBS, and gives a number of examples drawn from different project types and industries. Although not necessarily based in FM, the concepts and experience can be applied to any project. The benefits of using the RBS are then outlined, including as an aid for risk identification or risk assessment, comparison of projects, providing a framework for cross‐project risk reporting, and structuring lessons to be learned for future projects. This paper shows how to use the RBS to gain these benefits.

The purpose of this research is to rank the most significant factors of organizational structure that can reduce time and cost overruns (nonphysical waste) in road projects of the developing countries. Additionally, the effect of factors of organizational structure on nonphysical waste in road projects is also measured.

Factors of organizational structure causing time and cost overrun are extracted through a content analysis of the published literature. Moreover, a questionnaire survey is carried out involving 128 professionals to assess the effect of organizational structure factors on time and cost overrun. Finally, to obtain a more objective evaluation, relative importance index and regression analysis techniques are utilized, and the most severe factors influencing time and cost overrun are indicated.

This study found out that top management support and procurement procedures are the most significant factors influencing time and cost overruns in road projects of the developing countries.

A small number of studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of factors of organizational structure on time and cost overrun in the construction industry. And even more, its relation with respect to road projects of the developing countries is limited. This research highlights the effect of most significant factors of organizational structure that influence the nonphysical waste in road projects of the developing countries. Therefore, this study adds to the body of knowledge by recommending that all the stakeholders of construction project should pay close attention toward these factors to control the enigma of time and cost overrun. It might also prove helpful, if implemented to its full extent, in all the road construction activities undertaken.

Action research (AR), which emphasises collaboration between researchers and practitioners, is a qualitative research method that has much potential for the information systems (IS) field. AR studies of IS phenomena are now beginning to be published in the IS research literature. However, the rigour of many AR studies in IS can be improved. When AR has been published, the findings have frequently been emphasised at the expense of the process. In this article, we look at the process in AR projects, and look at some of the key choices and alternatives in controlling AR. We discuss three aspects of control: the procedures for initiating an AR project, those for determining authority within the project, and the degree of formalisation. We analyse seven recent AR projects in IS and from this analysis distil recommendations for determining these control structures.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a data interpolation method of curved surfaces from the point of dimension reduction and manifold learning.

Instead of transmitting data of curved surfaces in 3D space directly, the method transmits data by unfolding 3D curved surfaces into 2D planes by manifold learning algorithms. The similarity between surface unfolding and manifold learning is discussed. Projection ability of several manifold learning algorithms is investigated to unfold curved surface. The algorithms’ efficiency and their influences on the accuracy of data transmission are investigated by three examples.

It is found that the data interpolations using manifold learning algorithms LLE, HLLE and LTSA are efficient and accurate.

The method can improve the accuracies of coupling data interpolation and fluid-structure interaction simulation involving curved surfaces.

This article describes the effects of the implementation of a matrix structure into a division of a large New South Wales Government organisation. The existing organisation structure had proved inappropriate for the execution of divisional tasks, with the resultant emergence of problems of co‐ordination, planning and control. A Task Force recommended that a matrix structure be introduced, since this appeared more suited to the complex nature of the division's workload. In the period under review, various benefits and problems associated with the organisation change emerged. The benefits included improvements in efficiency and flexibility, and job and client satisfaction. In general, the problems which arose are those often associated with matrix structures; for example, role confusion and ambiguity, and role conflict. It is argued that to a large extent the problems originated more from poor planning and management of the organisation change process and ignorance of the pervasive influence of the organisation context than from inherent weaknesses in the matrix structure.

Flexibility and efficiency are dual attributes of the organizational structure that are crucial for project-driven enterprises to achieve sustainable development in a dynamic environment. However, there is a lack of research on the patterns by which the dual attributes of a project-driven enterprise’s organizational structure affect business model innovation. Employing organizational theory, this study aims to assess the mediating mechanisms and dynamic capabilities through which the dual attributes of the organizational structure influence business model innovation in project-driven enterprises.

Data were collected from 242 employees from four project-driven companies across 26 cities (e.g. Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen) in China. Structural equation modeling revealed the relationship between organizational structure’s dual attributes and business model innovation.

The findings show that the dual attributes (flexibility and efficiency) of the organizational structure have positive impacts on business model innovation. Moreover, dynamic capabilities mediate the relationship between the dual attributes and business model innovation in project-driven enterprises.

This study provides contributions to innovation research in the context of project-driven enterprises by revealing the influence of organizational structure on business model innovation through the firms’ dynamic capabilities. Such knowledge can enable managers of project-driven enterprises to develop effective interventions to promote business model innovation.

Airports are booming in China, to enlarge their capacities and stimulate economic development. Large-span spatial steel structures are commonly used in the terminal buildings of airport projects. Their advantages include prefabrication, strength, usability, adaptability and aesthetic quality. To manage large-span spatial steel structure projects, building information modeling (BIM) is recommended. Although there are plenty of studies on BIM application in steel structure projects, it is still rare to apply BIM to optimize the schedule and cost of steel structures, especially for airport projects.

This paper aims to develop a framework in which BIM and a time-cost optimization model are integrated to optimize construction costs and the duration of large-span spatial steel structure projects. A real case study was conducted to verify the feasibility of the BIM-based time-cost optimization model in an airport terminal building, which was built with a large-span spatial steel structure.

The results preliminarily support the reliability of the proposed BIM-based time-cost optimization model. The BIM-based time-cost optimization model will benefit construction planning for professionals and enrich relevant research on the application of BIM in large-span spatial steel structure projects.

The steel structure is difficult to control budgets and progress. This paper is expected to be adopted for optimizing the time and cost plans for projects involving steel structures in airport terminal buildings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural changes needed for project-based organisations (PBOs) to synthesise their project operations and services following the servitisation strategy. It addresses the question of how PBOs should change their organisational structure fitting with service provision strategy.

This study followed an exploratory research method using a single in-depth case with evidence collected from 51 project managers from five different industry sectors: construction, oil and gas, IT, logistics and health care

Capitalising on organisational design theory, it has been found that successfully extending PBOs' outcomes into a system of both project output and extra services requires an adjustment of organisational structure that creates greater value for both companies and customers. This required adjustment has been divided into five main categories: (1) collaboration cross-project and customers; (2) flexible workflow, (3) decentralised decision-making, (4) wide span of control and (5) project governance. However, the findings indicate that success can only be ensured by particular mutually coordinated organisational designs with a suitable balance of products and services

This study presents vital indicators to PBOs practitioners when deploying servitisation within their operational strategy by adjusting the organisation's design.

Servitisation could add both economic and social values for a diverse set of project stakeholders. However, the sustainability performance of servitisation in servitised project-based organisations is an outcome of reducing the discrepancy between project operation and service provision activities.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge and proposes a structural alteration process in PBOs to help align project operations and service provision activities. It explains how project-based organisations reconfigure their resources to provide services.