scholarly journals Project Managers’ Competencies in Collaborative Construction Projects

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Moradi ◽  
Kalle Kähkönen ◽  
Kirsi Aaltonen

Collaborative delivery methods in construction projects provide a new operational environment, which can foster effective interaction and cooperation between different project stakeholders. Project managers are one of the most important players in this environment, who therefore need to possess appropriate competencies. Collaborative construction projects and their managerial solutions are still a relatively new field and, thus, special aspects such as competencies of project managers in such projects have been limitedly studied. The present research aimed to evaluate project managers’ competencies in collaborative construction projects in Finland through a human behavioral approach, where project managers’ everyday work was the main source for understanding the competencies of relevance. Accordingly, a web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection from the case projects. Based on the gained data, project managers’ behaviors were analyzed, and consequently, their specific competencies were identified. Findings of this study propose 10 core competencies for project managers in collaborative construction projects, e.g., group capabilities, language proficiency, and leveraging diversity. Additionally, a set of supportive competencies were identified which, together with the core competencies, form the profile of project managers’ competencies for collaborative construction projects. Finally, the differences between competencies needed in traditional and in collaborative construction projects are discussed.

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Sina Moradi ◽  
Kalle Kähkönen ◽  
Ole Jonny Klakegg ◽  
Kirsi Aaltonen

Collaborative work practices are getting more common in construction projects. Consequently, new project delivery models have emerged and new practices have also entered the world of traditional delivery models. The resultant collaborative construction projects provide a different working environment compared to the traditional construction delivery models. This different environment seems to require project managers with certain types of competencies, but there is currently very limited research-based knowledge concerning this subject. This study aims at identifying such competencies, which project managers of collaborative construction projects need to possess to succeed. For this purpose, a human behavioral approach was employed where project managers’ behavior in their everyday work was the main source for understanding their competencies. Accordingly, the survey strategy was utilized, where a self-evaluation questionnaire was sent to 33 project managers of collaborative construction projects, and a response rate of 73% was achieved. The findings present four groups of competencies within a matrix model, structured based on their contribution to project managers’ successful performance in collaborative construction projects and the degree to which they can develop those competencies. The developed model can provide a baseline for selecting project managers and for enhancing the performance of the current ones.


2015 ◽  
Vol 764-765 ◽  
pp. 895-899
Author(s):  
Shiow Luan Wang ◽  
Thi Hoa Vu

Construction projects are becoming ever more complex and time driven, especially as the amount of project data and active project participants’ increase. For achieving a project success, project management not only must to meet time, cost, quality objectives, but also satisfies the project stakeholders needs related to the project management process. Project managers were difficult to effectively seizing, collecting and handling information which are generated from different systems. The elements of information presentation in web-based was contributed an important role to project management success. The purpose of this study is to provide a background to denote the enhancing project management via information presentation based on effective information technology/information systems which are emphasized in web-based.


Author(s):  
Jesper Kranker Larsen ◽  
Thomas Ditlev Brunoe ◽  
Søren Munch Lindhard ◽  
Kim Noergaard Jensen

Effective project coordination and management of time and cost scheduling in public funded construction projects receive a considerable focus from academics, politicians, and the construction industry itself with opposing points of view. The study objective is therefore to investigate the process of time and cost scheduling during the different project stages, and their relationships between critical factors affecting project schedules. Applied data collection was based on semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with publicly agency employed project managers and property managers. A multiple research approach was thus utilized to mix the two dataset. Findings demonstrate that project complications in the execution stage is associated to lack of project requirements and design with too optimistic project deadline and budget from the initial project stages. Moreover, a relationship was found between the presence of experienced consultants and the achievement of project success throughout the project phases as particular vital.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei J. Ying ◽  
Nan Zhao ◽  
John Tookey

Purpose Best value procurement (BVP) has been recognized for some time as offering significant opportunities to advance process excellence in the construction sector. As an innovative approach to strategic procurement, BVP has attracted attention from the New Zealand (NZ) Government. It has similarly been found that the most substantial benefit of this modified approach to procurement is in value creation and innovative organizational processes through identifying “best value.” Yet to date, there is a lack of robust evidence as to how BVP can exactly influence construction innovation. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore how to improve BVP implementation to promote construction innovation and what are the values to be achieved in BVP mega projects from the view of innovation. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with 22 participants, including project managers, procurement specialists, engineers and general managers from three organization types, were conducted to explore BVP implementation in a range of mega construction projects in NZ. Findings Barriers to BVP implementation and value innovation have been identified in this paper. Data analysis suggested traditional mindset in the procurement process, market constraints, mistrusts and fuzzy definition of BVP are the challenges for BVP implementation; BVP cultivates organizational competition because of diverse collaboration models and value attitudes; and BVP considers more values from the whole supply chain. To promote innovative construction, existing BVP should consider adopting progressive enhancements toward updating procurement guidance, encouraging effective communications, collaborating and promoting changes in stakeholders’ mindset. Practical implications Identified barriers to BVP implementation set up a platform for framing guidance, which could provide an effective approach as it enables a better understanding of what BVP means to NZ and what needs to be overcome. Taking this into account, similar small size markets around the world would be able to consider the applicability of BVP for innovative improvements. Originality/value This paper provides insights into value concepts in project procurement. It theoretically and practically possesses originality in linking BVP to innovative construction. The study of BVP and its application further reveals the importance of establishing a distinct regulation and fostering organizational competition from value aspects to achieve construction innovation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Stewart Usher ◽  
S. Jonathon Whitty

SYNOPSISOur research adds to the client-side project management body of literature by demonstrating that these professionals display all the characteristics of Design Thinking Mentalities, Thinking Styles and Practices as identified by Hassi and Laakso (2011a) and that they utilize a broad range of the Design Thinking tools identified by Liedtka (2015) and Johansson-Sköldberg et al. (2013) when they deliver construction projects.RELEVANCE FOR PRACTICE/EDUCATIONOur findings indicate that client-side project managers should view their role differently to what has been traditionally accepted. The use of Design Thinking within the project management construct highlights that practitioners need to develop skills and tools that address, not just the compliance and control elements of project management, but also information gathering and problem solving techniques. This change of perspective creates opportunities for project managers to broaden their skill set in order to be able create further value in the Construction process.RESEARCH DESIGNOur research uses a Grounded Theory methodology to explore the ‘lived experience’ of client-side project managers to determine if they utilize Design Thinking when managing Construction projects. This is achieved by creating a framework from the work of Hassi and Laakso (2011a), Johansson-Sköldberg et al. (2013) and Liedtka (2015) to guide semi-structured interviews with a cohort of ten client-side project managers.MAIN FINDINGSOur research provides evidence of Design Thinking Mentalities, Thinking Styles, Practices and Tools being utilized by client-side project managers when delivering Construction projects. Our findings also identifies 15 project management tools used by client-side project managers when delivering Construction projects and highlight that the practice of client-side project management should not be viewed exclusively as part of the ‘Implementation’ process. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONSOur results support existing research on client-side project management and expand the Project Management body of literature by demonstrating how client-side project managers employ Design Thinking to handle poorly-defined projects.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 7898
Author(s):  
Yeonghye Yoon ◽  
Wenyan Yan ◽  
Eunjin Kim

There are currently extensive discussions on the remarkable development of the convention industry and the impact on local economies made by convention visitors, but there is limited research on the human resources expertise which is crucial for sustainable and qualitative development in the field of convention. This study aims to examine differences in core competencies based on the type of job characteristics model of convention project managers. Based on the existing literature, quantitative and qualitative mixed-methods design was used. 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals to define measurements, especially core competencies. Job characteristics and core competencies were identified with a survey of 392 convention PM. By using a cluster analysis, it investigated the differences in perception of competencies according to the job characteristics model. As a result of the analysis, five job characteristics were verified, and core competencies that were not organized were classified. In addition, it was confirmed through the analysis that there is a difference in perception of core competencies according to job characteristics. Based on the results, this study stresses the importance of the qualitative and sustainable development of the convention industry. Theoretical and practical implications were provided to enhance core competencies according to job characteristics for sustainable growth of convention project managers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izatul Laili Jabar ◽  
Faridah Ismail ◽  
Nur Mardhiyah Aziz

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the initial information related to the roles and competencies required for a project manager who managed IBS construction projects in the Malaysian construction industry.  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the project managers who have experience in managing an IBS construction project. The finding reveals unanimously agreed that the project managers who managed IBS construction projects have to undertake extra roles which required additional competency as compared to the generic construction projects. It is hoped that the findings from this research will assist the project managers in their career development. Keywords: Competence; Construction; Project manager; Industrialized building systemeISSN 2398-4295 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. http://dx.doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v3i11.107


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (7A) ◽  
pp. 1069-1076
Author(s):  
Layth T. Ali ◽  
Raid S. Abid Ali ◽  
Zeyad S. M. Khaled

Cost overrun in construction projects is a common phenomenon in Iraq. This might occur due to diversity of factors. This study aims to identify the factors influencing construction projects cost that are potentially controllable by main contractors. A field study through a questionnaire survey was directed to a sample of related Iraqi professional engineers from general contracting companies at both public and private sectors. Their opinions on the impact and frequency of each factor were investigated. The questionnaire offered (59) factors classified in (8) categories namely; legislations, financial and economic, design, contractual, site management, material, labor and equipment. The factors were ranked according to the highest Relative Importance Index (RII). The study revealed (10) major factors that are potentially controllable by main contractors namely; labor productivity, sub-contractors and suppliers performance, equipment productivity, site organization and distribution of equipment, experience and training of project managers, scheduling and control techniques, planning for materials supply, planning for equipment supply, materials delivery and planning for skilled labor recruitment. Recommendations to aid contractors and owners in early identification of these factors are also included in this study.


Author(s):  
Tomislav Rozman ◽  
Tanja Kocjan Stjepanovič ◽  
Andrej Raspor

The article analyzes modern cloud document management systems and communication tools from the viewpoint of a EU project managers, who lead multidisciplinary, multilingual and international teams. It also explores the types of users who use these tools as well as the motivation factors guiding their choices. The research includes observation within the project group, interviews and semi-structured surveys among 40 EU project managers, who have managed 244 EU projects. The main finding is that a lot of project managers still don't use shared, cloud document system. The biggest obstacle to more efficient usage of existing systems is their un-friendliness, security concerns and lack of skills. Meetings are still perceived as the most efficient channel for distributing and receiving project tasks, but they are closely followed by communication software. Applying the authors' findings to the project management practice can lead to better communication and shared document storage management, which can influence overall effectiveness of project management.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-498
Author(s):  
Yimin Zhu ◽  
Mehmet Emre Bayraktar ◽  
Shu-Ching Chen

Disagreements in construction projects often result in litigation that is both time‐consuming and expensive. A dispute review board (DRB) provides a valuable and proven alternative method of dispute resolution. Currently, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) stores DRB reports in portable document format (PDF) with limited search capability. Improving information retrieval of DRB documents and providing a certain level of integration of DRB reports with relevant but heterogeneous data and documents is the key to enhancing the current FDOT DRB system. This paper presents a web‐based data management framework to improve information management processes of the FDOT DRB system by providing key features such as metadata generation, an integrated review process, a simple issue description, member information management, and versatile information search. The new system not only allows DRB members and FDOT construction engineers to store and retrieve DRB reports but also provides more functionality to process those re‐ports. New functionalities include a structured search based on the metadata of DRB reports, an unstructured search using advanced computer technology, and the integration of DRB reports with other related information for analysis. This type of functionality improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the DRB system. Santrauka Del nesutarimu vykdant statybos projektus dažnai kyla teisminiu ginču, kurie yra brangūs ir trunka ilgai. Vertingas ir praktikoje prigijes alternatyvus ginču sprendimo metodas yra ginču nagrinejimo taryba (GNT). Šiuo metu Floridos transporto departamentas (FTD) yra sukaupes GNT ataskaitas PDF formatu su ribota paieškos galimybe. GNT dokumentu informacijos paieška ir tinkamo lygio GNT ataskaitu integravimas su reikalingais, bet heterogeniniais duomenimis yra esmine prielaida tobulinti dabartine FTD GNT sistema. Straipsnyje pristatoma internetine duomenu valdymo sistema, skirta patobulinti FTD GNT valdymo procesa remiantis šiomis esminemis savybemis: metaduomenu generavimo, integruoto peržiūros proceso, paprasto ginčo aprašymo, dalyvio informacijos valdymo, visapusiškos informacijos paieškos. Naujoji sistema ne tik leidžia FTD BNT nariams saugoti bei rasti GNT ataskaitas, bet ir sudaro galimybes funkcionaliau jas apdoroti. Naujos sistemos funkcijos apima struktūrizuota paieška GNT ataskaitu metaduomenu pagrindu, restruktūri‐zuota paieška naudojant pažangias kompiuteriu technologijas ir GNT ataskaitu integravima su kita susijusia analizuojama informacija. Šios funkcines savybes pagerina GNT sistemos efektyvuma.


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