CONTENT

Editorial

1. Ki Pyung Kim, Kenneth S. Park:
BIM Feasibility Study For Housing Refurbishment
Projects In The UK

2. Giorgio Locatelli, Mauro Mancini, Giulia Gastaldo, Federica Mazza:
Improving Projects Performance With Lean Construction: State Of The Art, Applicability And Impacts

3. Amirhossien Mohebifar, Mohammad Hossein Sobhiyah, Samira Haghbin:
Enhancing General Contractors Capacities With
Collaborative Networks

4. Rajaa Alasad, Ibrahim Motawa, Stephen Ougunlana:
A System Dynamics-Based Model For Demand Forecasting In Ppp Infrastructure Projects – A Case Of Toll Roads

5. Nunzia Carbonara, Nicola Costantino, Roberta Pellegrino:
A Three-Layers Theoretical Framework For Analyzing
Public Private Partnerships: The Italian Case

6. George Leventakis, Athanasios Sfetsos, Nikolaos Moustakidis,
Nikitas Nikitakos:
A Risk Assessment Framework For Interconnected And
Interdependent Surface Transport Networks

1. Ki Pyung Kim, Kenneth S. Park:
 

BIM Feasibility Study For Housing Refurbishment Projects In The UK

Abstract:
Current existing UK housing stock is responsible for 27% of UK CO2 emission. Refurbishing this housing stock can contribute to the 80% CO2 reduction by 2050 as a UK government target. However, there are barriers to refurbish a house due to high initial cost and lack of knowledge and skills in construction sector. To accomplish the CO2 reduction target, BIM should be utilized because BIM is capable of coping with current barriers. Furthermore the UK government mandates public sector to adopt BIM for construction projects from 2016. Hence, this research aims to explore the feasibilities of BIM adoption for housing refurbishment. This research consists of a desk study, web-based questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The data search used mostly public statistics and government reports. The target for questionnaire survey was chosen from local authorities, architects and constructors, construction professional organizations, and BIM software developers as a focused group. The web-based questionnaire was comprised of 16 questions, and it was distributed to 100 construction professionals via email. The findings revealed that the BIM adoption for housing refurbishment projects is feasible and timely, although the clients’ demand and BIM penetration in the housing sector is low. This research identified that the benefits of BIM should be understood by stakeholders to increase BIM awareness and demand. In addition, BIM education and financial supports were identified as the most critical steps for encouraging BIM adoption. Furthermore, the construction professionals are aware of the benefits of BIM whether they are engaged in BIM or not.

2. Giorgio Locatelli, Mauro Mancini, Giulia Gastaldo, Federica Mazza:
 

Improving Projects Performance With Lean Construction: State Of The Art, Applicability And Impacts

Abstract:
Construction projects are not often delivered on time and on budget and re-workings are usually required to satisfy customer’s needs. This papers aims to present an overview of Lean Construction (LC) and how this construction philosophy tackles the aforementioned problems. The research is empirical and based on data from the literature, 7 new Case Studies built with primary data, 12 Case Studies on CLIP (Construction Lean Improvement Programme) projects, 4 semi-structured Interviews with Firms adopting LC and several interviews (face to face and email) with LC experts. The results show as LC can achieve astonishing results focusing on reducing waste caused by unpredictable work-flow, paying attention on how every single activity affects the next one and avoiding reworking considered as no valued-added activity. The paper provides three original set of results: (1) a fuzzy cognitive map of LC showing how the different elements are linked to each other; (2) a pathway for the implementation of LC; (3) a synthesis of the strengths and the weaknesses of LC merging literature review with case studies analysis. In particular (3) shows the dimensions of projects adequate for lean construction, the increase of productivity and time reduction due to LC implementation and finally the reasons moving firms to adopt LC.

3. Amirhossien Mohebifar, Mohammad Hossein Sobhiyah, Samira Haghbin:

Enhancing General Contractors Capacities With Collaborative Networks

Abstract:
This research is motivated by considering new requirements of General Contractors (GC), resulted from modern day business environment and capabilities of Collaborative Networks (CN) to meet these requirements. GC should establish, manage and maintain an efficient network of suppliers and subcontractors to achieve complex construction project's goals and guarantee the project performance. In recent years, complication and specialization of large projects of construction industry has led into wide recruitment of specialists contractors and, therefore, dividing projects into small segments. Thus, there is more emphasis on maintaining coordination between various sections and contractors, which will in turn guarantee the overall performance of a project. This paper will look at advantages of establishing CN to enhance capability and meet requirements of GC in Construction Projects. Concepts related to other knowledge areas such as Collaborative Networks are introduced, too. It is hoped that this will help in further research on developing the concept of CN in construction project management. The paper discusses similarities between GC and CN and possibility of establishing a coordinating part for GC, in the format of a virtual enterprise. The findings imply that most of the GC needs for becoming international and successful could be covered by Collaborative Networks’ specifications.

4. Rajaa Alasad, Ibrahim Motawa, Stephen Ougunlana:
 

A System Dynamics-Based Model For Demand Forecasting In Ppp Infrastructure Projects – A Case Of Toll Roads

Abstract:
The success of Public Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects is highly dependent on the demand for the services provided by these projects. The demand forecasting process is complex because of the influence of various economic, social and technical factors and the interrelationships among them. In addition, this process is dynamic in nature as many of these factors are time dependent. Current models used for demand forecasting have failed to account for many of these aspects. Among various modeling techniques, System Dynamics (SD) is a promising method for modeling systems with complexity and dynamicity features. The modeling process using SD can be broadly divided into Qualitative System Dynamics and Quantitative System Dynamics. This paper describes the development stages of a conceptual Qualitative SD model for demand forecasting which include: factors
identification, creating Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs), and the CLDs validation. As expert knowledge and perceptions are key requirements to develop a realistic SD model, the paper will emphasis on the knowledge elicitation involved in the development stages. The paper articulates different approaches used to collect and analyze perceptions solicited from experts in toll road projects and the demand forecasting discipline in order to build this qualitative model. In addition, it depicts how the information has been integrated into the different stages of the modeling process. The developed qualitative model will form the basis for the development of the quantitative SD model aiming at improving the practices of demand forecasting in PPP toll road projects.

5. Nunzia Carbonara, Nicola Costantino, Roberta Pellegrino:

A Three-Layers Theoretical Framework For Analyzing Public Private Partnerships: The Italian Case

Abstract:
The applications of PPP all over the world vary from country to country. International literature lacks of contributions focusing on cross-country and cross-sector description, analysis and comparison of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The present paper aims at developing a framework for characterizing PPPs in various countries. The theoretical framework is divided in three layers: country, sector and project layers. Each layer is characterized by a set of dimensions and each dimension is characterized by a set of variables that are highly relevant to characterize PPPs. The proposed framework has been applied to characterize PPPs implementation in Italy, with a particular focus on the transport sector.

6. George Leventakis, Athanasios Sfetsos, Nikolaos Moustakidis, Nikitas Nikitakos:
 

A Risk Assessment Framework For Interconnected And Interdependent Surface Transport Networks

Abstract:
The functioning and viability of modern societies is heavily depended upon the continuous and uninterruptible operation of critical infrastructures. Surface transportation systems are in the heart of the daily lives of millions of citizens globally. As such, they are open and freely accessible by design and in the past have been exploited for terrorism attacks. Like many critical infrastructures, different multimodal and heterogeneous transportation networks are interconnected as integral part of larger synergistic systems forming a “network of networks”. These underlying and often concealed interconnections between network assets enable adverse effects to manifest at assets that are initially unaffected by a security incident. The present paper introduces a holistic Risk Assessment Framework for heterogeneous, transportation networks that is applicable at a strategic level, where risk is propagated between interconnected networks through an “Incident Propagation Matrix” taking into account the nature of the interconnection and the type of threat. The proposed methodology views and models the risk analysis process from the perspective of the network operator and emergency responders and emphasizes the reduction of the impacts on business continuity.