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Article
Publication date: 9 November 2010

Joseph Kangwa, Femi Olubodun and Margaret‐Mary Nelson

This study undertakes to examine the perceived barriers to effective management of live city‐centre building refurbishment projects in the UK. Currently a school of thought posits…

1016

Abstract

Purpose

This study undertakes to examine the perceived barriers to effective management of live city‐centre building refurbishment projects in the UK. Currently a school of thought posits that refurbishment projects are more unpredictable than new builds. The aim of the study is to identify how, against myriad logistical constraints of city‐centre refurbishment projects, managers endeavour to complete their projects on time.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 38 project managers responsible for large and medium‐scale city‐centre refurbishment projects in Manchester, Preston, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham were targeted as participants for the study. The projects were selected on the basis of location. Only live and active projects within a busy shopping centre of a city were targeted.

Findings

The study identified, using SPSS and non‐parametric statistical techniques, that the chance of success of planning for live city‐centre projects (LCCP) is impacted by economics, micro traffic flow, the experience of project managers, the share scale of the building form, the availability of specialist refurbishment trades, and how the project itself is linked to the feeder routes to and from the main active shopping areas (MASA). The study concludes that auxiliary skills remain critical to successful project completion; among these is the relationship between local authority agencies and the project team.

Originality/value

The study is unique as it seeks to identify which refurbishment dimensions and challenges are relevant and exclusive to live city‐centre refurbishment projects.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2010

Ismail Rahmat and Azlan Shah Ali

The paper's aim is to establish the relationships between the formalisation of construction firms on the level of coordination and effectiveness of refurbishment projects.

1215

Abstract

Purpose

The paper's aim is to establish the relationships between the formalisation of construction firms on the level of coordination and effectiveness of refurbishment projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of a literature review of published journals and textbooks, a postal questionnaire survey with managing directors, project managers and contract managers. About 94 construction companies were selected for the postal questionnaire survey. In total, 54 (57 percent) of returned questionnaires were considered to be useful for statistical analysis.

Findings

Highly formalised construction firms require higher level of coordination than lowly formalised construction firms. In highly formalised construction firms, the participants managing refurbishment projects tend to circumvent formalisation by having more informal interactions, which contradicts the needs of the firms. The effectiveness of highly formalised construction firms is not significantly better than lowly formalised construction firms.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to medium and large refurbishment projects, with contract value above £500,000.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the need to reduce formalisation in managing refurbishment projects. Large construction firms, which tend to be highly formalised should set up autonomous refurbishment division to manage refurbishment projects.

Originality/value

The paper shows that the formalisation of the organizational structure of construction firms affects the level of coordination of refurbishment projects.

Details

Facilities, vol. 28 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2008

Azlan Shah Ali, Ismail Rahmat and Hasnanywati Hassan

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between the degrees of involvement of key design participants in the decision‐making process of refurbishment projects on the design…

1882

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between the degrees of involvement of key design participants in the decision‐making process of refurbishment projects on the design performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of a literature review of the published journals and textbooks along with a postal questionnaire with professional architects. In total 234 selected professional architects in Malaysia were involved in a postal questionnaire survey. A total of 82 questionnaires or 36 percent were identified as being fit to be used for the data analysis.

Findings

The degree of involvement of key participants are varied at all stages. Greater involvement of key participants is one of the ways to obtain more information on increased integration in the design process. Highest involvement of key design participants was found in the construction stage, which implies that more tasks need to be carried out in refurbishment projects. The involvement of an M&E engineer outside their normal domain in the design process could improve the design performance of refurbishment projects.

Research limitations/implications

The literature review in the refurbishment design process was rather limited. Only limited study was carried out in specific areas owing to time and cost constraints.

Practical implications

The paper helps the project manager identify skills and professions that are important in the refurbishment design process, which could improve the completeness and accuracy of design product before work is started on site. This would help to reduce unnecessary design changes during the construction stage. The scale of fees for payment of the architect's services in refurbishment projects needs to be amended so that the amount paid up to contract documentation stage would be reduced from 70 percent to a more reasonable figure.

Originality/value

The paper determines the types of designers that are critically required in refurbishment projects, in order to have a more effective design process and thereby improve the accuracy and completeness of refurbishment design before work is started on site.

Details

Facilities, vol. 26 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 January 2009

Azlan Shah Ali, Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman and Hafez Salleh

The main objectives of this paper are to identify general characteristics of refurbishment projects and problems arise in Malaysian context.

2696

Abstract

Purpose

The main objectives of this paper are to identify general characteristics of refurbishment projects and problems arise in Malaysian context.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative and qualitative approaches using postal questionnaire survey and semi‐structured interviews were used in data collection. A total of 1,552 questionnaire sets sent to professional architects.

Findings

The results show that the majority of refurbishment projects in Malaysia involved residential and office types of building with contract value less than RM500,000.00 (USD 150,000.00). Some of major problem in refurbishment projects are inconsistence in client's needs, refurbishment projects exceed targeted costs and times.

Research limitations/implications

The literature search and survey results showed that systematic studies into the refurbishment were relatively sparse. Therefore, more detail study gear towards refurbishment area is needed for Malaysian construction industry in the future. The findings provide general overview of refurbishment projects in Malaysia, which could help intrested researchers to have indications on the refurbishment activities.

Originality/value

Survey results provided important information about the general profiles of refurbishment projects in Malaysia. This will helps other researchers who are interested to identify focus area that needs further investigation in refurbishment works.

Details

Facilities, vol. 27 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2008

Arto Saari

The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic refurbishment design procedure that allows precision refurbishment and thus enables the preservation of existing structures…

1189

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic refurbishment design procedure that allows precision refurbishment and thus enables the preservation of existing structures and their component parts.

Design/methodology/approach

The participatory research method was chosen and was used to develop and test a precision refurbishment procedure. This involved preparing the programming and design documents of an ongoing refurbishment project in cooperation with the designer. The actual refurbishment work was carried out using the documents developed in the study.

Findings

The principal finding was that a thorough, objective analysis of the condition and functioning of the structures in question is essential for determining a precision refurbishment procedure of the type presented here. With the refurbishment design incorporated into the contract, including precise product specifications and drawings, the client will be in a strong position in relation to the contractor during the actual refurbishment process. The way in which the product specifications were presented in the refurbishment specification allows systematic and precise depiction of the content and focus of the refurbishment. At the same time, the level of detail in the product specifications can be easily “regulated”.

Originality/value

The paper offers a tested systematic method for drawing up precise and unambiguous refurbishment designs for building refurbishment projects.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2003

K.W. Chau, S.K. Wong, A.Y.T. Leung and C.Y. Yiu

There have been very few empirical studies investigating the value enhancement effects of refurbishment and most rely on cross‐sectional data, which cannot show the before and…

2398

Abstract

There have been very few empirical studies investigating the value enhancement effects of refurbishment and most rely on cross‐sectional data, which cannot show the before and after effects conclusively because of the heterogeneous nature of the properties. The problem of refurbishment is more complicated in buildings or housing estates with multiple‐ownerships, since refurbishment is a collective decision, which can sometimes be difficult to achieve. Uses panel data in Hong Kong to estimate the impact of refurbishment on the market value of properties in a large housing estate. The results show that the refurbishment brought about approximately a 9 per cent increase in the market value of the properties, which far exceeds the cost of refurbishment. Suggests that property owners of a housing estate will benefit if they can reach a collective decision on renovation.

Details

Facilities, vol. 21 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2024

Madurachcharige Hasini Vidushima Fernando, Duleepa Dulshan Costa, Buddha Koralage Malsha Nadeetharu and Udayangani Kulatunga

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the lean principles and the challenges of building refurbishment. To have an in-depth investigation of the application…

52

Abstract

Purpose

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the lean principles and the challenges of building refurbishment. To have an in-depth investigation of the application of lean principles to address the challenges of refurbishment projects, ten expert interviews following a qualitative research approach were utilised in this research. Data were analysed using manual content analysis to derive the framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The refurbishment of buildings has attracted the attention of the present construction industry. However, uncertain project characteristics, information deficiency, limited space for construction activities and less stakeholder involvement make it complex. Since the lean concept effectively deals with complex and uncertain projects, this study focusses to investigate the application of lean principles to overcome the challenges of refurbishment projects in Sri Lanka by developing a framework.

Findings

It was found that the five main lean principles of customer value, value stream, value flow, pull and perfection are appropriate for building refurbishment projects in Sri Lanka. Precise identification of clients and end-users, value adding and non-value adding activities, interruptions and stakeholder communication chains, setting scope, examining the possible technologies and taking measures to deliver the exact product to ensure the successful application of lean principles for refurbishment projects. Further, 27 benefits of five lean principles were identified which can be used to address the 13 identified challenges of building refurbishment of projects. Finally, a framework has developed portraying the application of lean principles in building refurbishment.

Practical implications

The framework developed is beneficial for the building refurbishment project team to address the barriers of refurbishment projects by applying lean principles.

Originality/value

This framework can be used as a guideline for the implementation of building refurbishment projects by addressing their challenges with lean principles.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1992

C. Pugh

Reviews the economic and financial considerations relevant toinvestment in shopping centre refurbishment. Considers the problems ofeconomic obsolescence through rising maintenance…

Abstract

Reviews the economic and financial considerations relevant to investment in shopping centre refurbishment. Considers the problems of economic obsolescence through rising maintenance costs and falling rents, and legal obsolescence through changes in legislation and safety regulations, using case study examples. Concludes that refurbishment is usually an attractive proposition, even a defensive necessity: the financial implications of refurbishment can be analysed formally.

Details

Property Management, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2013

Samantha Organ, David Proverbs and Graham Squires

The existing housing stock needs substantial adaptation to meet national and international carbon reduction targets. The largest proportion of housing is owner‐occupied, and will…

2210

Abstract

Purpose

The existing housing stock needs substantial adaptation to meet national and international carbon reduction targets. The largest proportion of housing is owner‐occupied, and will require improvement works which go beyond those measures provided through the Green Deal and similar programmes. Therefore, the motivation of owner‐occupiers to perform more substantial energy efficiency refurbishments is essential to facilitate greater action. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A synthesis of the extant literature from a range of disciplines reveals the role of motivation and the factors influencing motivation and pro‐environmental action in the context of the home. Based on this synthesis of the literature, a new motivation model for energy efficiency refurbishment in the owner‐occupied housing stock is then described.

Findings

The study has found that multiple factors affect motivation to refurbish in the owner‐occupied housing stock. Key motivations for energy efficient refurbishment can be categorized into the broad themes of economic, social, and environmental motivations. These motivations will be affected by a wide number of interrelated internal and external factors and mediated by the emotions of the individual. The model presented demonstrates the relationship between the multiple factors that affect energy efficiency refurbishment in relation to specific contexts.

Originality/value

The study represents a potential addition to motivational theory and concepts for use within the field of energy efficient refurbishment of the owner‐occupied housing stock. Implications for future government policy and towards raising the motivation of owner‐occupiers are identified: it can be used to shape national and local policy and information campaigns to motivate energy efficiency refurbishment in the owner‐occupied housing stock. To be successful, this should take differing internal factors and contexts into consideration and the dynamic nature of owner‐occupier motivation. The model can also be used by industry professionals to better understand the owner‐occupier customer motivations for energy efficiency refurbishment and therein provide a better service.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2017

Ahmet Anil Sezer

This paper aims to analyse the factors influencing refurbishment site managers’ waste management efforts.

1248

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the factors influencing refurbishment site managers’ waste management efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

Twenty-seven semi-structured interviews were held with managers from two large contractors involved in housing and office refurbishment projects in Sweden. Also, a web and postal questionnaire survey was sent to 232 refurbishment site managers and received a 34 per cent response rate.

Findings

Site managers devise waste management strategies based on environmental inventories and project size. In smaller projects, waste contractors are employed only for physical activities rather than providing advice. Site managers’ waste management efforts are influenced by project-related factors, organizational and personal factors, technical factors, industry culture and legislation. The level of contract detail, specific client demands related to waste management and project size are important factors.

Practical implications

Policies and guidelines for projects of different sizes should be developed at least for large contractors; scale influences site managers’ waste strategies. Waste management efforts in refurbishment projects can be improved by addressing simple technical problems including providing clear labelling of containers and ensuring shelter from rain and snow.

Originality/value

This is a pioneer survey of refurbishment site manager opinions and practices. Inefficient waste management in building refurbishment projects can be costly and harmful to the environment. There are many opportunities to improve waste management efforts.

Details

Journal of Facilities Management, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-5967

Keywords

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