The role of site manager transformational leadership in the construction project success

PurposeIn the construction industry, site managers are responsible for the day-to-day on-site running of a project. Site managers are required not only to ensure that work is done safely, on time, within budget and to the right quality standards, but also to manage any delays or problems encountered on-site during a construction project. Thus, a site manager has a significant position in the success of a construction project. However, there is a lack of studies considering the role of the leadership style of a site manager in construction project success. In this study, not only the effect of the transformational leadership (TL) style of site managers on the success of construction projects is assessed, but also the mediating role of team-building (TB) and team innovation between TL and project success is studied.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed hypotheses are tested by comparing the performance criteria of construction projects with the TL style of site managers. The success criteria of the projects are examined using project documents and client opinions, and the TL of site managers, TB aspects and team innovation in projects are assessed by asking from their subordinates. The Pearson correlation coefficient is employed to investigate the relation between every two variables.FindingsThe results illustrate that the TL of a site manager is directly related to project success; thus, the findings would confirm the importance of selecting appropriate site managers for construction projects. Moreover, while there is a mediating role of TB between TL and construction project success, team innovation does not have a mediating impact in design-bid-build (DBB) construction projects.Originality/valueAs there is a lack of studies assessing the TL effects on the success of construction projects and the significant role of site managers, this study is one of the first researches that tested these impacts and evaluated the mediating role of TB and team innovation between TL and project performance.

Implementation of an organizational intervention to improve low-wage food service workers’ safety, health and wellbeing: findings from the Workplace Organizational Health Study

Background Many organizational interventions aim to improve working conditions to promote and protect worker safety, health, and well-being. The Workplace Organizational Health Study used process evaluation to examine factors influencing implementation of an organizational intervention. This paper examines the extent to which the intervention was implemented as planned, the dose of intervention implemented, and ways the organizational context hindered or facilitated the implementation of the intervention. Methods This proof-of-concept trial was conducted with a large, multinational company that provides food service through contractual arrangements with corporate clients. The 13-month intervention was launched in five intervention sites in October 2018. We report findings on intervention implementation based on process tracking and qualitative data. Qualitative data from 25 post-intervention interviews and 89 process tracking documents were coded and thematically analyzed. Results Over the 13-month intervention, research team representatives met with site managers monthly to provide consultation and technical assistance on safety and ergonomics, work intensity, and job enrichment. Approximately two-thirds of the planned in-person or phone contacts occurred. We tailored the intervention to each site as we learned more about context, work demands, and relationships. The research team additionally met regularly with senior leadership and district managers, who provided corporate resources and guidance. By assessing the context of the food service setting in which the intervention was situated, we explored factors hindering and facilitating the implementation of the intervention. The financial pressures, competing priorities and the fast-paced work environment placed constraints on site managers’ availability and limited the full implementation of the intervention. Conclusions Despite strong support from corporate senior leadership, we encountered barriers in the implementation of the planned intervention at the worksite and district levels. These included financial demands that drove work intensity; turnover of site and district managers disrupting continuity in the implementation of the intervention; and staffing constraints that further increased the work load and pace. Findings underscore the need for ongoing commitment and support from both the parent employer and the host client. Trial registration This study was retrospectively registered with the Clinical Trials. Gov Protocol and Results System on June 2, 2021 with assigned registration number NCT04913168.

An Assessment of Labour Productivity Influencing Factors in the Construction Industry: A Case study of Zaria, Nigeria

In this research, factors affecting construction labour productivity in Zaria, Kaduna state was assessed. The research seeks to identify the factors affecting labour productivity in the research area. It is believed that this information will aid site managers and the construction professionals on decisions to take in-order to limit these controlling factors thereby leading to an improved level of efficiency in labour force, increase product labour productivity and reduce cost and time over runs on construction projects. The research adopted a quantitative research approach with the use of questionnaires as an instrument for data collection from site managers at construction sites in Zaria. Sixty-seven questionnaires were administered on construction sites within Zaria and Forty-one were returned giving a sixty-one percent response. The Questionnaire sought to assess the perception of site managers on factors affecting construction labour productivity. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics analysis to obtain frequencies, mean and Relative Importance Index (RII). RII was used to rank the factors. Thirty-Nine out of the Forty-One factors researched indicated high severity with the RII ranging between 0.60 RII < 0.80. The research revealed that external forces tend to affect construction labour productivity more than Site factors and Human Labour Factors. This can be attributed to the fact that site factors and Human Labour factors can be controlled by the site engineers while the external factors cannot be really controlled by the site engineers. The survey also revealed that Rain, Conflict with project stakeholders, Skill of labour, and Financial Crisis had a very high severity in affecting construction labour productivity on the construction sites in Zaria, Kaduna State.

INSIDE-T: A Groundwater Contamination Transport Model for Sustainability Assessment in Remediation Practice

Current sustainability assessment (SA) tools to help deal with contaminated groundwater sites are inherently subjective and hardly applied. One reason may be lack of proper tools for addressing contaminant spread which are basically objective. To fill this gap, there is a need for contaminant transport models that provide site managers with needed room for applying their judgments and considerations about the efficiency of each remediation method based on their experiences in similar cases. INSIDE-T uses trend analysis and inverse modeling to estimate transport parameters. It then simulates contaminant transport both with and without the inclusion of remedial actions in a transparent way. The sustainability of each remedy measure can then be quantified based on the underlying SA tool (INSIDE). INSIDE-T was applied to a site in south Sweden, contaminated with pentachlorophenol. Simulation scenarios were developed to enable comparison between various remediation strategies and combinations of these. The application indicated that natural attenuation was not a viable option within the timeframe of interest. Although pump-and-treat combined with a permeable reactive barrier was found to be just as effective as bioremediation after five years, it received a much lower sustainability score overall. INSIDE-T outcomes enable site managers to test and evaluate different scenarios, a necessity in participatory decision-making practices such as remediation projects.

CLASSIFICATION OF CLAIM-CAUSING EVENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR COMPLEXITY

The increasing complexity of construction projects has inevitably led to site managers are facing ever more complex claims. As a result, they are increasingly occupied with claim management. Their primary task, however, is to carry out the project and claim management is considered a secondary task. Furthermore, site managers often lack both the know-how and the resources required for handling complex claims. Attaining a successful outcome for a claim, demands stringent causal evidence for each single event linked to its effects. This makes documentation and quantification of a complex claim exceptionally difficult. Site managers tend to underestimate the complexity of a claim-causing event and as a consequence may often be too late in notifying internal company experts or external consultants focusing on claim management. This paper aims to categorize deviations causing a claim according to its complexity at the time of its occurrence. To do so, a quantitative survey was handed out to site managers in the Austrian construction industry. Based on the findings, the authors designed a decision-making matrix to classify claim-causing events according to their complexity. This will allow site managers to take necessary measures processing a claim and mitigate possible disputes.

Implementation of An Organizational Intervention To Improve Low-Wage Workers' Safety, Health And Wellbeing: Findings From The Workplace Organizational Health Study

Background: Many organizational interventions aim to improve working conditions to promote and protect worker safety, health, and well-being. The Workplace Organizational Health Study used process evaluation to examine factors influencing implementation of an organizational intervention. This paper examines the extent to which the intervention was implemented as planned, the dose of intervention implemented, and ways the organizational context hindered or facilitated the implementation of the intervention.Methods: This proof-of-concept trial was conducted with a large, multinational company that provides food service through contractual arrangements with corporate clients. The 13-month intervention was launched in five intervention sites in October 2018. We report findings on intervention implementation based on process tracking and qualitative data. Qualitative data from 25 post-intervention interviews and 89 process tracking documents were coded and thematically analyzed.Results: Over the 13-month intervention, research team representatives met with site managers monthly to provide consultation and technical assistance on safety and ergonomics, work intensity, and job enrichment. Approximately two-thirds of the planned in-person or phone contacts occurred. We tailored the intervention to each site as we learned more about context, work demands, and relationships. The research team additionally met regularly with senior leadership and district managers, who provided corporate resources and guidance. By assessing the context of the food service setting in which the intervention was situated, we explored factors hindering and facilitating the implementation of the intervention. The financial pressures, competing priorities and the fast-paced work environment placed constraints on site managers’ availability and limited the full implementation of the intervention.Conclusions: Despite strong support from corporate senior leadership, we encountered barriers in the implementation of the planned intervention at the worksite and district levels. These included financial demands that drove work intensity; turnover of site and district managers disrupting continuity in the implementation of the intervention; and staffing constraints that further increased the work load and pace. Findings underscore the need for ongoing buy-in and support from both the parent employer and the host client.Trial registration: This study was retrospectively registered with the Clinical Trials.Gov Protocol and Results System on June 2, 2021 with assigned registration number NCT04913168.

Are we neglecting local knowledge while choosing rehabilitation strategy for mining sites?

&lt;p&gt;Given that mining sites, active or closed, represent almost 1 percent of Earths&amp;#8217; surface, the choice of adequate rehabilitation strategy is of crucial importance. In our previous work, we were examining the types of rehabilitation and biodiversity developed in consequence, and suggested that natural succession should be favoured whenever possible.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As advocated by IPBES, in its report of the second session of the plenary meeting (2012), indigenous and local knowledge should be valued and taken into account in decision-making processes, in order to stop the biodiversity loss. Yet, the decisions on rehabilitations are being taken by environmental professionals, without consulting with site managers. In this study, we were examining whether there is a local knowledge, which could be used when choosing the adequate rehabilitation technique. We were interested in how quarries and sand and gravel pits managers apprehend biodiversity, since they are the ones conducting actions impacting biodiversity. We were interested in their apprehension of their own actions and its consequences on biodiversity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Managers of 46 quarries and sand and gravel pits were interviewed, on site, using Critical Incident Technique (Flanagan, 1954), in order to obtain examples of concrete situations showing their relationship with biodiversity as well as their degree of conscience on biodiversity issues. Every interview lasted about one hour and a half and consisted of two parts: the first where general questions were asked in the office for about 15 minutes and the second where the questions about the situations related to biodiversity were asked, during the walk around the site for better contextualization.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We analyzed the collected data using Grounded Theory (Glaser et al. 1967) which is a method used to analyze the field data (e.g. interviews), in order to obtain a theory that explains the underlying phenomenon. Often used in social sciences in order to understand the phenomena and identify the paradigms, this method was well adapted to reveal the causes and motivations of actions conducted by site managers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Results of this study allowed us to comprehend the site managers as not just actors at the source of impact on biodiversity, but also as actors that are informed and that invest themselves in a relationship with nature. They perceive the value of biodiversity in quarries and gravel pits, conduct a lot of non-mandatory actions for biodiversity, during the life cycle of the site and are motivated to conduct additional measures in order to favor biodiversity. We discovered that there is a hidden expertise among site managers. For instance, they are capable of recognizing a lot of animal species present on site and even to predict the failure of certain rehabilitation techniques.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Following this conclusion, it seems unfortunate that the experience of site managers is not used when choosing the type of rehabilitation. A more participatory, interactive and more educational two-way process would seem much more appropriate for this type of actors who are very important for the implementation of biodiversity protection policies and who see themselves more proactive than reactive.&lt;/p&gt;

Preferences of Construction Managers Regarding the Quality and Optimization Criteria of Project Schedules

In the literature on the scheduling of construction projects it is difficult to find a justification for adopting the criteria for evaluating work schedules based explicitly on the preferences of those who develop them. This article tries to fill this gap and provide information on the preferences of construction site managers for sustainable scheduling and organization of construction projects. The publication focuses on the views and needs of construction site engineering staff regarding methods of work organization, the need to reduce downtimes in the work of crews, the deadline for project realization and the selection of crews for tasks. This information was obtained on the basis of surveys conducted among managerial staff of various levels (74 people). The authors hope that the information provided in this publication will allow the creation of more reliable tools to support construction managers better adapted to their preferences and needs, and therefore more likely to be applied in practice.