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1 – 10 of over 206000The objectives of this paper are to: find out whether design‐bid‐build (DBB) or design‐build (DB) procurement method gives better quality building; identify variables that…
Abstract
Purpose
The objectives of this paper are to: find out whether design‐bid‐build (DBB) or design‐build (DB) procurement method gives better quality building; identify variables that significantly affect quality scores of DBB and DB projects; and construct models to predict quality scores of DB and DBB projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design was based on a structured questionnaire and data on quality performance and factors that may affect quality of a building project were collected by postal survey and face‐to‐face interviews.
Findings
There was no significant difference between the quality scores of DB and DBB projects. To ensure that buildings procured through DBB have high quality, owners should adopt the following practices: engage experienced consultants; short‐list bidders and select contractors based on a combination of price and ability. To obtain high quality DB buildings, owners should engage architects to prepare the scheme design and not to set the budget too early. For both types of projects, owners should allow contractors to propose changes to the contract with a view to improving its quality.
Research limitations/implications
As there is no significant difference in quality of DBB and DB projects, the argument that DB projects produce lower quality buildings is demolished.
Practical implications
The practical implication is that owners play an important part in ensuring that they obtain buildings of high quality.
Originality/value
Building owners and consultants can use the two models to predict quality scores of DBB and DB projects and take specific actions to improve the quality of their projects if necessary.
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Fahriye Hilal Halicioglu and Kubra Gurel
Most of the emphasis in the green building literature on the green performance of buildings has been on optimizing energy and resource efficiency. Admittedly, from the perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
Most of the emphasis in the green building literature on the green performance of buildings has been on optimizing energy and resource efficiency. Admittedly, from the perspective of the sustainable construction industry, making optimally energy and resource efficiency, often seen as a technical challenge, has a premise role in green building projects. However, green buildings need to optimally meet the health, well-being and comfort requirements of their occupants and their environmental quality targets. In that context, perceived quality is a crucial determinant of occupant satisfaction and can play a critical role in the user-oriented improvement of the green performance of buildings. While previous research has highlighted issues related to occupant satisfaction, none of them examines green buildings from a perceived quality perspective. Therefore, the study attempts to fill this research gap.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, to reveal the positive and negative satisfaction of the building occupants according to the green building features, the review of previous research in the related literature is supplemented by an exploratory study of case studies evaluating occupant satisfaction in green buildings. Then, a conceptual framework is proposed to link perceived quality and green building features towards occupant satisfaction.
Findings
A review of the case studies in 49 research articles has shown deficiencies in a comprehensive understanding and approach to the perceived quality of green buildings. In response, the development of a framework for conceptual interrelationships may provide a pathway for more detailed quality assessments for future research. In this study, the proposed conceptual framework has the potential to provide a conceptual basis for future models in determining the relationship between quality expectations and quality experiences in green buildings. It can also serve as a constructive approach for assessing occupant satisfaction in the quality-driven improvements of green buildings and further investigation of the importance of various quality cues, quality attributes and their interactions.
Originality/value
This study aims to incorporate green building features and perceived quality concepts into a framework that can form the basis for assessing occupant satisfaction in green buildings. The ultimate goal of the proposed conceptual framework is to generate an insight that can contribute to rethinking the perceived quality of green buildings and developing more occupant-driven solutions for future green buildings.
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The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of thermal, acoustic and HVAC upgrades on the perception of the quality of life among residential building occupants.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of thermal, acoustic and HVAC upgrades on the perception of the quality of life among residential building occupants.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study used a quantitative research approach, utilizing a questionnaire as the research instrument. A survey was conducted with 1,119 residential apartment building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo, using a stratified random sampling method for selection of participants.
Findings
The present study used quantitative research with a questionnaire as the research instrument. The survey was conducted with 1,119 residential apartment building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo, using stratified random sampling. The study found that thermal retrofits, acoustic retrofits and HVAC upgrades as a whole model affect the perception of the quality of life of residential building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo. However, the study found that not all dimensions of the constructed research model (thermal, acoustic and HVAC) affect the perception of the quality of life of residential building occupants. Specifically, thermal retrofitting seems to strongly influence the perception of quality of life, while HVAC upgrades do not seem to have an impact on the quality of life of occupants. Finally, acoustic retrofits also influence the perception of the quality of life, although not to the same degree as thermal retrofitting.
Research limitations/implications
The present study contributes to understanding the role that thermal retrofits, acoustic retrofits and HVAC upgrades play in the perception of quality of life by building occupants in an understudied region with a booming real estate sector such as Kosovo. The study also highlights the need for further analysis to understand why HVAC upgrades do not seem to influence the perception of quality of life by residential building occupants in Kosovo.
Originality/value
The present study is the first to quantify the impact of thermal, acoustic and HVAC upgrades on the perception of the quality of life of residential building occupants in Prishtina, Kosovo.
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Frits Meijer and Henk Visscher
This paper aims to evaluate the quality control systems for constructions in seven countries in Europe with the purpose to trace innovative approaches and best practices that can…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the quality control systems for constructions in seven countries in Europe with the purpose to trace innovative approaches and best practices that can serve as examples for other countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a series of research projects carried out over a number of years. The research results were updated in 2016 with a desktop research project in seven European countries. The results from this latest project form the heart of this paper. The information is organised into tables that describe and analyse the main features of the quality control systems of the countries (e.g. scope, focus and main characteristics of the procedures and quality demands on building professionals).
Findings
Several similar trends can be recognised in the quality control systems of the various European Union (EU) countries. Quality control is getting more and more privatised and the control framework is setting checks and balances throughout the construction process. Other findings are that scope and focus of the statutory control is unbalanced. Within the control processes emphasis is put on the safety aspects of complex constructions. Far fewer demands are made on the quality of the builders. Re-orientation of the building regulatory framework seems to be needed.
Research limitations/implications
The paper only focusses on European countries where private quality control is established and on selected topics. The findings are based on desktop research and not on the practical experiences of the stakeholders involved in the countries studied.
Practical implications
The paper draws some important recommendations for policymakers in the building regulatory field. It suggests both an enhancement of the effectiveness of the quality control procedure as well as the commitment of builders to comply with the regulations.
Social implications
The quality of constructions is essential for the wellbeing and safety of its users, its occupants or its visitors. This applies to the whole range of quality aspects: structural- and fire safety, health, sustainability and usability aspects. The analyses and recommendations of this paper aim to contribute to an improvement of the overall construction quality.
Originality/value
The paper makes an original contribution to the (limited) literature that is available in this field. The results can be used to situate the quality control systems of each member state within the EU, to assess the main trends, and it can be used as a guide to develop strategic choices on possible improvements in each country.
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Fernanda Acre and Annemie Wyckmans
Non-technical dimensions such as spatial quality are just as relevant for energy efficiency as technical and economic dimensions in the renovation of dwellings. However, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Non-technical dimensions such as spatial quality are just as relevant for energy efficiency as technical and economic dimensions in the renovation of dwellings. However, the significance of non-technical dimensions is often neglected in the energy renovation of dwellings. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the renovation of dwellings for energy efficiency influences spatial quality in the MS-1 building in the neighbourhood of Arlequin, Grenoble, France. The Arlequin case study is part of the ZenN project, nearly zero energy neighbourhoods, funded by the European 7th Framework Programme (Grant Agreement No. 314363).
Design/methodology/approach
The impact of the renovation on spatial quality is analysed by crossing technical measures, applied in the energy renovation of dwellings with the definition of spatial quality proposed by Acre and Wyckmans (2014). The spatial quality definition results from a literature review on quality of design and urban life, wherein works of Weber (1995) and Gehl (2010, 2011) are related to the residential use in the scales of the building and block. The impact of renovation on spatial quality is further evaluated by using the spatial quality assessment developed by Acre and Wyckmans (2015). The impact on spatial quality is observed by considering all the renovation measures, instead of only considering the measures primarily related to energy performance. This emphasises the need for a cross-disciplinary approach between technical and non-technical dimensions in the energy renovation of dwellings.
Findings
The results display both negative and positive impacts of the energy renovation on spatial quality in the dwellings and emphasise the potential of non-technical dimensions in promoting renovation. The impact on spatial quality is primarily negative when only measures adopted in order to improve energy efficiency are considered in the evaluation.
Originality/value
This paper consists of a novel crossing of technical and non-technical dimensions in energy renovation of dwellings. The work aligns with the current European trend of nurturing energy-deep renovation to reach Europe’s 2050 energy-efficiency targets (Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) 2011).
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Zamharira Sulaiman, Azlan Shah Ali and Faizah Ahmad
Abandoned buildings which are exposed to weather and human threat may lead to deterioration in building quality. Indirectly, the buyer is not satisfied when the abandoned buildings…
Abstract
Abandoned buildings which are exposed to weather and human threat may lead to deterioration in building quality. Indirectly, the buyer is not satisfied when the abandoned buildings is completed and occupied. This study seeks to assess residents' satisfaction towards residential building quality which was abandoned. This research combined quantitative and qualitative methods. Respondents are randomly selected based on reports and information obtained through the Ministry Housing and Local Government (MHLG) and Local Authority (LA). Subsequently thirty (30) housing projects were selected to answer the questionnaires. Based on thirty (30) housing projects which have been completed, only three (3) housing projects ranged between six (6) months to two (2) years and have been occupied by the buyers. A total of ten (10) developers were interviewed with respect to rehabilitation of abandoned projects. Thus 194 respondents were randomly selected to achieve the objective of the study. The data was analysed through descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistics. This research demonstrated that abandoned housing project can lead to residents' satisfaction towards building quality. In order to rehabilitate abandoned housing, the study subsequently suggested build then sell approach towards achieving better housing quality.
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The purpose of this paper is to suggest a supplementary definition of quality and quality‐building in business. This supplementary definition is the outcome of a predominantly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to suggest a supplementary definition of quality and quality‐building in business. This supplementary definition is the outcome of a predominantly inductive research approach that has been delimited to the conceptual explanation of the main concern and its recurrent solution of those involved in the operation and management of businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
Classic grounded theory (CGT) has been used as the methodology. The main hallmark of CGT is concept and theory generation directly from data, while delimiting to the most important and problematic for those being studied. A rethinking of existing concepts takes place during one of the last stages of a CGT study. During this stage, the concepts of the generated theory are conceptually compared to the literature.
Findings
When the building blocks of the generated CGT of business and management were compared to the existing literature, the generated concept of “confidence‐building” emerged as a close conceptual synonym to “quality‐building”. Confidence‐building is understood as the application of certain trust‐building techniques (“saming”, transparency, distinguishing) that facilitate the modification or maintenance or prevention of people's behaviour (i.e. own, employees', customers', suppliers', etc. behaviour) in such a manner that the company's survival or growth is sustained.
Originality/value
This kind of analysis has not been done before. One implication of this rethought quality concept is that all issues pertaining to people relationships in business become an inseparable part of the quality issue – as well as issues like HRM, marketing, organisational adjustments and strategic decision making.
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Paul Andriot, Fabrice Larceneux and Arnaud Simon
In this article, the aim is to document the divergences/convergences between the market perceptions of quality and the financial estimations for office buildings relative to the…
Abstract
Purpose
In this article, the aim is to document the divergences/convergences between the market perceptions of quality and the financial estimations for office buildings relative to the notion of centrality and the distance to the central business district (CBD).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a hierarchical approach that decomposes and estimates the perceived quality of buildings from the stakeholders’ perspectives, we study the geographies of perceived quality measures in the Greater Paris Metropolis and compare them to the financial geography.
Findings
The perceived location quality decreases with distance from the CBD whereas judgments on the built structure and the workplace do not, exhibiting a ring-shaped pattern. The gradient of the components of the perceived quality are heterogeneous, having positive, negative or null values. Appraisers tend only to consider the quality of location in their estimations.
Originality/value
This article raises the issue of fair spatial judgments by appraisers and the financial market. Monocentricity is not the rule in the market perceptions of quality. It suggests that financial estimates are strongly biased, with mental representation of centrality as a judgmental heuristic.
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AbdulLateef Olanrewaju and Hui Jing Alice Lee
Poor quality in building projects is high and increasing. Poor quality can increase the cost of a building by up to more than 50% and can delay a project by up to 50%. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Poor quality in building projects is high and increasing. Poor quality can increase the cost of a building by up to more than 50% and can delay a project by up to 50%. This research investigated the poor quality of building elements/components.
Design/methodology/approach
The site operatives were requested to rate the frequency of poor quality in 25 building elements/components. The frequencies of the poor quality were scored on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from least often to extremely often. The survey forms were administered to construction site operatives by hand delivery.
Findings
The data revealed that poor quality occurred in more than 80% of the building projects completed. Approximately 40% of the cost of a building project is attributed to poor quality. In total, 70% of the respondents measured the poor quality of building elements as being high and frequent. The size and frequency of poor quality are higher in concrete, plaster, brick, foundations and roof trusses.
Practical implications
The research findings would help to reduce claims, disputes, maintenance costs and waste on sites.
Originality/value
This research provides fresh information on poor quality in building projects and provides a systemic process for anticipating poor quality in building projects. The findings also provide an option to increase maintenance span and a means to reduce claims and disputes in the construction sector.
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Daniel Ho, Graeme Newell and Anthony Walker
This paper identifies the importance of key factors influencing the quality of CBD office buildings. An office building quality index (BQI) is constructed and its relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper identifies the importance of key factors influencing the quality of CBD office buildings. An office building quality index (BQI) is constructed and its relationship with net rent assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
The importance of 30 property‐specific CBD office building attributes on the quality of CBD office buildings is assessed using a survey of property industry respondents. The analytical hierarchy process procedure is used to determine weights for each of these attributes to construct an office BQI.
Findings
Findings indicate that functionality (31.0 per cent), services (22.6 per cent), access and circulation (16.4 per cent), presentation (13.1 per cent), management (11.5 per cent) and amenities (5.4 per cent) are the order of importance in assessing office building quality. There was found to be a strong functional relationship between office building quality and net rent.
Practical implications
A better understanding of the factors influencing CBD office building quality is determined, with a more effective and practical office BQI developed for benchmarking purposes in property portfolios.
Originality/value
Importance of CBD office building attributes is determined and a new CBD office BQI is developed for practical implementation in the property industry.
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