Construction Supply Chain

It is argued that due to construction peculiarities, supply chain management has four speci"c roles in construction. Practical initiatives in each role to advance the construction supply chain are analysed. The present status of construction supply chains is investigated by means of case studies and a comparison with previous research. Three main conclusions are drawn regarding the present status. Firstly, even in normal situations the construction supply chain has a large quantity of waste and problems. Secondly, most of these are caused in another stage of the construction supply chain than when detected. Thirdly, waste and problems are largely caused by obsolete, myopic control of the construction supply chain. These results concur with the "ndings made on make-to-order supply chains in general. Finally, the subjective and objective limitations of the four roles are analysed, this being based on empirical "ndings and the generic theory of supply chain management.

The construction industry produces one of the most complex and substantially large structures such as buildings, bridges, dams and tunnels using lengthy, network structured and dynamic supply chains with multiple internal and external suppliers. Long and complex supply chains make it difficult to monitor compliance, provide ultimate assurance of the final product and often lead to increased cost with payment delays. The technology that underpins cryptocurrencies is known as blockchain. However, the capabilities of blockchain can be extended far beyond cryptocurrencies. It enables existing applications to be improved and new applications such as blockchain-powered election, healthcare, identity management, power grids, supply chain, property, smart contracts and so on. This paper aims to compute the stakeholders' perspective on blockchain and smart contracts in the construction industry. As the primary data collection methodology, an industry engagement workshop in the form of round-table discussions was conducted. Each round-table comprised of both academics and industry participants with different context from the construction industry. The table composition was four industry practitioners and two academics with the responsibility of moderating the discussion for all six groups. There were 57 responses, and 18 unique perspectives were identified. A word cloud was generated by using the frequency of responses to identify the density of each perspective. The key findings of the data analysis highlighted efficiency, trust, fair, security, transparent, accountability, compliance and standardisation were highlighted as the stakeholders' primary perspective on blockchain and smart contracts based solutions for the construction supply chain. Moreover, meantime highlighted construction industry requirements and drivers of blockchain and smart contracts are reconciled. So, the findings will help in implementing better blockchain solutions to the construction industry in future.

This paper examines the early progress towards the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) relationships in construction. It is based on a literature review and survey of the views of construction practitioners. We contend that SCM has many of the features associated with a 'fifth generation innovation'. This paper suggests that although construction practitioners have some knowledge of SCM they need a better conceptual understanding of it and new and more systematic approaches to its implementation. r

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the alternative procurement procedures that will address the complexity of issues surrounding timber procurement for housing reconstruction after the Tsunami in Banda Aceh. It reviews construction supply chain management (SCM) and procurement philosophies with a project management (PM) perspective to facilitate the logistics of post-disaster reconstruction. Design/methodology/approach -Based on two fieldtrip experiences in Banda Aceh in 2006 (one month) and 2008 (two months) with the housing reconstruction program of an international non-governmental organisation, this paper examines the modern literature on SCM and analyses this process associated with construction material procurement in practice, reviews the problems inherited in the Indonesian context and analyses the proposed procedures of local and international procurement of timber to streamline the supply for reconstruction in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Findings -The incorporation of sustainable considerations into the design of procurement routes in the overall PM process for post-disaster construction should be well recognized. The paper shows that basic SCM philosophies of ensuring stakeholder integration and collaboration could reduce the problems in timber procurement in Banda Aceh. Sustainable construction and triple bottom lines criteria are proposed to ensure a value creation process for a wider stakeholder engagement and overall reconstruction project delivery. Originality/value -The paper provides useful PM insights into SCM and sustainable construction literature. The case study reviews the timber procurement problems and goes further to present two alternative procurement models that could be implemented as more sustainable responses to post-disaster reconstruction in Banda Aceh.

Construction is a typical project industry, thus in most cases products are delivered and production is organised in separate projects. The traditional one-off approach of projects has often been discussed and criticised to be ineffective and inefficient, and inadequate to deliver "best value" to construction clients.

This paper examines the early progress towards the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) relationships in construction. It is based on a literature review and survey of the views of construction practitioners. We contend that SCM has many of the features associated with a 'fifth generation innovation'. This paper suggests that although construction practitioners have some knowledge of SCM they need a better conceptual understanding of it and new and more systematic approaches to its implementation. r

The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, cost and time overruns, and conflicts compared with other manufacturing industries. Supply chain management as an innovative management mode provides a new solution for resolving these problems from systems perspective. Coordination is the core issue to improve construction performance in construction supply chain (CSC). In this paper, the concepts of CSC and CSC management are defined. Furthermore, the inter-organization problems that effect CSC coordination are identified. Considering the Internet fosters the integration of construction processes and provides an efficient platform for CSC coordination, this paper presents two types of Internet-enabled coordination mechanisms: market mechanism, such as auction and contracting, and coordination flow, including information hub and electronic marketplace, for improving construction performance and to accelerate the innovations in the construction industry.

Cloud computing and cloud based IT solutions are relatively recent advancement in enterprise solutions
that have been gaining traction. While the construction industry has been slow to adopt these
technologies, the scenario is definitely changing and adoption is increasing. Cloud based computing
combined with the mobility offered by smartphones and tablet PCs are changing the landscape of IT
solutions for managing construction projects. The flexibility of accessing information anywhere and the
ability to buy computing power at affordable rates implies that construction projects can now take
advantage of additional computing power to deliver a new generation of collaboration and decision
support solutions. Forward looking construction companies can take their business to new heights if they
can evolve to thinking of their business as an agile supply chain rather than a fragmented, litigious
industry that it is traditionally seen as. In other words, the combination of cloud solutions on mobile
technologies is a potent combination that has definite advantages for the construction industry, given the
fragmented and distributed nature of the industry. But the solutions are not a panacea in itself; successful
adoption depends on successful migration of processes and relationships as well that need to change.
This paper will discuss cloud based IT solutions and its applicability in this context for the construction
industry.

Contractors, being located at the vanguard of the construction supply chain, potentially o!er the most e!ective means of improving construction industry cost performance. As a generalisation, cost remains the most important criterion for construction clients; so its reduction (most often than not) represents improved client satisfaction. The construction process remains highly labour intensive, therefore, any savings in this regard could reduce construction costs signi"cantly. This paper presents a model for minimising construction labour costs based on European best practice, and discusses the implications of such on supply chains. A variety of European contractor performance data were analysed, to identify optimum construction solutions for achieving minimal cost on a particular build-type (insitu concrete construction). The generic concepts of the cost minimisation model emanate from the construction practices employed by contractors. It is subsequently argued that supply chains downstream from the principal contractor, i.e. forming part of these key construction practices (material suppliers, subcontractors, plant and equipment providers, etc.), should be targeted as a means of e!ectively reducing overall construction costs. The use of &downstream strategic alliances' (DSAs) is advocated in this respect.

From the arguably poor platforms described by the Egan, Latham, and Royal Academy of Engineering reports on the construction sector, there is now evidence that the supply chain revolution experienced over the last decade in the electronics products and automotive sectors is impacting on housebuilding in the UK. This case study describes how a first-tier supplier has applied``best practice'' to design and implement a BPR programme. In total span the resulting change covers a baseline of traditional operations to the present status of agile response. Essentially the BPR programme has been conceived around the need for streamlined material flow through internal processes and both supplier and customer interfaces. The paper highlights the BPR stages necessary for enabling change, which is audited in terms of assessment of improved material flow. Finally, thè`b ottom-line'' impact of the BPR programme is documented, and demonstrates that substantial benefits have accrued.

The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, cost and time overruns, and conflicts compared with other manufacturing industries. Supply chain management as an innovative management mode provides a new solution for resolving these problems from systems perspective. Coordination is the core issue to improve construction performance in construction supply chain (CSC). In this paper, the concepts of CSC and CSC management are defined. Furthermore, the inter-organization problems that effect CSC coordination are identified. Considering the Internet fosters the integration of construction processes and provides an efficient platform for CSC coordination, this paper presents two types of Internet-enabled coordination mechanisms: market mechanism, such as auction and contracting, and coordination flow, including information hub and electronic marketplace, for improving construction performance and to accelerate the innovations in the construction industry.

Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) and effectively improving the performance of organizations in various industries. Coordination refers to the integration of different parts of an organization or different organizations in supply chain to accomplish a collective set of tasks and to achieve mutual benefits. This paper defines the concepts of construction supply chain (CSC) and construction supply chain management, especially regards construction supply chain management as the coordination of interorganizations decision making in construction supply chain and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in construction supply chain. Much research and practice indicate that there still are many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyzes the problems in construction supply chain. In order to resolve these problems and improving the performance of construction, an agent-based framework for construction supply chain coordination is designed based on the agent technology and multiattribute negotiation and multiattribute utility theory (MAUT). The framework, which integrates the construction organizations in construction supply chain and multiattribute negotiation model into a multiagent system (MAS), provides a solution for supply chain coordination in construction through multiattribute negotiation mechanism on the Internet. Finally, the prototype of the framework is developed and tentatively run based on an imaginary construction project. The trial run reveals the feasibility to implement the agent-based framework for coordination in construction. D

Supply chain management (SCM) is a concept that has flourished in manufacturing, originating from Just-In-Time (JIT) production and logistics. Today, SCM represents an autonomous managerial concept, although still largely dominated by logistics. SCM endeavors to observe the entire scope of the supply chain. All issues are viewed and resolved in a supply chain perspective, taking into account the interdependency in

Recent innovative procurement initiatives are challenging traditional ways of procuring construction projects. These initiatives are intended to empower clients to exercise more control over the supply chain and generate more cooperation among project participants. The initiatives aim to integrate the supply chain, create greater trust, introduce a pain and gain culture, and reuse the knowledge on succeeding projects. This paper, with examples from the UK construction industry, presents how clients are integrating the downstream supply chain members. Critical factors in integrating suppliers and manufacturers were identified and the benefits of innovative procurement resulting in the integration of downstream supply chain members were analysed in detail through two case studies. The paper concludes that through clients' initiatives, there is a great potential to utilise the expertise and knowledge of suppliers and manufacturers at the outset of a project to achieve effective planning and delivery of the whole project, with greater supply chain integration.

Supply chain management (SCM) is a concept that has flourished in manufacturing, originating from Just-In-Time (JIT) production and logistics. Today, SCM represents an autonomous managerial concept, although still largely dominated by logistics. SCM endeavors to observe the entire scope of the supply chain. All issues are viewed and resolved in a supply chain perspective, taking into account the interdependency in the supply chain. SCM offers a methodology to relieve the myopic control in the supply chain that has been reinforcing waste and problems.

The accident rate in the Malaysian construction industry is among the highest compared to other developing countries. The Malaysian government has recommended the self-regulation of safety management systems (SMS) for construction projects with the hope of improving the situation; however, the readiness of the local contractors to implement SMS is questionable. This research investigated the systemic issues of contractors in processing plants, during SMS development and implementation. Firstly, a literature review has surveyed the scenario of the construction supply chain as well as enabling an understanding of its impact on SMS implementation during project execution in the processing plants. Secondly, this paper has identified factors influencing SMS implementation through in-depth semi structured interview. Data were analyzed through grounded theory analysis method. The findings of this research appear to show that many obstacles encountered by contractors are interlinked, including cultural factors, working conditions and the organizational process.

Research on blockchain technology implementation within civil engineering is quickly emerging. The use of blockchain for the integration of the material and economic flows within construction supply chain – thus creating a new digital business model for the related actors – to enhance a construction project’s production, logistics management, and constructability, has been only scarcely investigated. In this paper, this shortage is documented through a comprehensive literature review. Then, the potential of Swedish independent third-party logistics consultants as a fertile ground for such a digital business model, is examined. Finally, conclusions about the pursuance of this potential paradigm shift are drawn.

Supply chain management (SCM) is a concept that has flourished in manufacturing, originating from Just-In-Time (JIT) production and logistics. Today, SCM represents an autonomous managerial concept, although still largely dominated by logistics. SCM endeavors to observe the entire scope of the supply chain. All issues are viewed and resolved in a supply chain perspective, taking into account the interdependency in the supply chain. SCM offers a methodology to relieve the myopic control in the supply chain that has been reinforcing waste and problems. Construction supply chains are still full of waste and problems caused by myopic control. Comparison of case studies with prior research justifies that waste and problems in construction supply chains are extensively present and persistent, and due to interdependency largely interrelated with causes in other stages of the supply chain. The characteristics of the construction supply chain reinforce the problems in the construction supply...

The structure and control of the construction supply chain have been subjects of interest for many years in construction management. Due to the peculiarities of the industry, construction supply chains tend to be is relatively fragmented, the production environment relatively unstable, and the efficiency levels relatively low. In this paper, supply chain integration is proposed as a path towards improvement by introducing repetitive business and production strategies, and strategic collaboration between parties in the construction supply chain. The improvements proposed in this paper are based on systems thinking and a constructivist approach to the structure and control of the construction supply chain. Through a systematic building process of "organisational engineering", fundamental and practical guidelines are presented to shift from project-based towards project-independent supply chain integration through progressive repetition of strategically established business processes and collaboration concepts. This gradual supply chain integration implies the shift of construction practice from project delivery by occasional coalitions of dispersed firms towards integrated product-development in extended enterprises of aligned firms.

The shortcomings of current project risk management processes, tools and techniques, are identi®ed and the case for the application of knowledge management philosophies and techniques to project risk management is made. A common language for describing risks based on a hierarchical-risk breakdown structure has been developed and it provides the basis for developing a sharable knowledge-driven approach to risk management. This de®nes generic risk and remedial action descriptive terms, which can then be stored in catalogues. These have been implemented in a database management system to act as a knowledge repository. A prototype system being developed to support the risk management framework is brie¯y discussed.

Measuring the value of information sharing (VIS) in different inventory policies can help general contractor to improve materials and equipments management in construction supply chain. The models for measuring the VIS under (s, S) and Periodic Review (PR) inventory policies are established. A method to compare the VIS is given in a two-level construction supply chain, which aims to measure the impacts of supply quantity information of materials on general contractor's service level and total inventory cost under different inventory policies. A numerical example is proposed to explore the gap of VIS between (s, S) and PR inventory policies in a rebar supply chain. The results show that general contractor's service level in (s, S) inventory is higher than PR's and total inventory cost in (s, S) inventory is lower than PR's in the case of no information sharing. In the case of information sharing, general contractor's service level in PR inventory policy is higher than (s, S) policy; however, it is implemented by the increase of total inventory cost. This research provides valuable information to help general contractor to make correct decision on inventory management in supply chain at firm-level.

Construction is a typical project industry, thus in most cases products are delivered and production is organised in separate projects. The traditional one-off approach of projects has often been discussed and criticised to be ineffective and inefficient, and inadequate to deliver "best value" to construction clients. Previously multi-project approaches have been discussed to enable the introduction of more stable types of production organisation and project delivery, leading to higher levels of performance and better value. Multi-project approaches have been associated with higher levels of supply chain integration, and vice versa. In this paper supply chain integration is discussed both from the client and the supplier side to enable multi-project approaches to construction leading to higher levels of effectiveness and efficiency. In practice supply chain integration may appear in different forms, initiated by the client or the supplier. Besides, the appropriate forms an...

Much research work has assessed that construction is ineffective and many problems can be observed. Analysis of these problems has shown that a major part of them are supply chain problems, originating at the interfaces of different parties or functions. There have been several kinds of initiatives aiming at improvement and renewal of construction supply chains, but only few have a track record of consequent and significant successes.

Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) and effectively improving the performance of organizations in various industries. Coordination refers to the integration of different parts of an organization or different organizations in supply chain to accomplish a collective set of tasks and to achieve mutual benefits. This paper defines the concepts of construction supply chain (CSC) and construction supply chain management, especially regards construction supply chain management as the coordination of interorganizations decision making in construction supply chain and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in construction supply chain. Much research and practice indicate that there still are many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyzes the problems in construction supply chain. In order to resolve these problems and improving the performance of construction, an agent-based framework for construction supply chain coordination is designed based on the agent technology and multiattribute negotiation and multiattribute utility theory (MAUT). The framework, which integrates the construction organizations in construction supply chain and multiattribute negotiation model into a multiagent system (MAS), provides a solution for supply chain coordination in construction through multiattribute negotiation mechanism on the Internet. Finally, the prototype of the framework is developed and tentatively run based on an imaginary construction project. The trial run reveals the feasibility to implement the agent-based framework for coordination in construction. D

Most causes of the inefficiency in construction supply chains are related to managerial issues, including the poor management of commitments among their members and the lack of integration of managerial processes along the chain. This paper discusses those problems in two case studies carried out in the building elevator and cut and bend rebar supply chains. As in many of construction supply chains, both configurations are characterized by their maketo-order nature, the delivery of customized products to their customers and by having their production based on final design specifications. Focusing on the flow of information along the supply chain, the objective of this paper is to assess how the integration of these make-toorder supply chains' processes is affected by the way commitments among chain members are coordinated. By undertaking a detailed description of both supply chains' processes and analyzing their existing problems, the study shows that a major part of them are related to the poor integration of the information flows. The Language Action Perspective (LAP) was used to provide an additional approach for analysis, emphasizing the commitments involved in the information sharing among supply chain agents. The LAP analysis revealed that the root cause of those problems relies mainly on the poor management of commitments among supply chain members. Moreover, many of the problems could be avoided by explicitly planning the flow of commitments that are made necessary by inter-organizational processes as well as by organization's internal processes. The adoption of the LAP and the focus on the flow of commitments may support the understanding of make-to-order supply chains integration problems as well as suggest actions towards the integration of their processes.

Supply chain management (SCM) is a concept that has flourished in manufacturing, originating from Just-In-Time (JIT) production and logistics. Today, SCM represents an autonomous managerial concept, although still largely dominated by logistics. SCM endeavors to observe the entire scope of the supply chain. All issues are viewed and resolved in a supply chain perspective, taking into account the interdependency in the supply chain. SCM offers a methodology to relieve the myopic control in the supply chain that has been reinforcing waste and problems.

Information about products for the construction industry is increasingly often provided to designers in digital ways that enable them to apply the information directly in the design process. Digital product catalogues are provided using various media and formats and several initiatives are taken by the industry and by CAD developers to integrate this kind of information into CAD systems. Generally, current practice is to distribute the information to designers, for example, by using CD-ROMs or a website where the information can be downloaded. In our research, we recognise that distributing information in this manner detaches it from the business processes in the construction supply chain, which is a major disadvantage.

There is growing interest in the adoption of concurrent engineering (CE) in the construction industry. While concurrent engineering (CE) is gaining acceptance, some implementation efforts have not realised their full potential for reducing costs, reducing time, and increasing efficiency, effectiveness and performance for product development efforts. This is due in part to insufficient planning to support the implementation. One approach

Small & Medium Construction Enterprises (SCEs) do most of the actual work in many construction industries, but often receive the least attention. Recent industry development initiatives have mostly targeted the issues raised by large, and therefore prominent, construction enterprises. This paper profiles a recent Hong Kong based initiative to empower the organisational learning and development of Small & Medium Contractors (SMCs). This learning is facilitated by providing a SCE-friendly web-based platform and useful tools for continuous improvement in boosting productivity, quality and image, through strategic information and knowledge management. For example, efficiencies are envisaged through accelerated access via the web-based platform to (a) specially compiled SCE-friendly information modules, (b) a wider range of potential business partners (e.g. suppliers, subcontractors, etc.), and (c) formats and guides to assist in some basic work processes, such as materials management, permit applications, as well as for performance improvements through benchmarking etc. Parallels are drawn with a recent initiative to stimulate innovations in Small Construction Enterprises (SCEs) in Wales. While each approach should be designed to suit specific regional characteristics and priorities, it is concluded that academiaindustry partnerships are valuable in uplifting the lower levels of the construction supply chain; and that without this boost, the industry can never grow to its expected heights.

This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based negotiation efficiency (REANE) in a construction supply chain. REANE provides a path forward to help negotiators reach an acceptable solution when other methods fail; the key insight is the use of relative entropy to measure the relative degree of consensus among parties and hence minimize necessary compromises. An illustrative example is presented to show the application of REANE. The REANE method aggregates the preference information of negotiators in CSC twice. First, a compromise group preference order is ascertained using preference information, which is newly provided by negotiators, and compromise preference information (formed previously in the agent-based auto-negotiation process). Second, group preferences are aggregated by employing a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory, while, considering the multiple attributes of negotiation in a construction supply chain. The method of REANE fulfills the necessary requirement of group decision-making, i.e., maximizing the preference consistency of decision-making groups and minimizing the utility gaps between every negotiator's preference and the group's preference.

Supply chain management (SCM) is a concept that has flourished in manufacturing, originating from Just-In-Time (JIT) production and logistics. Today, SCM represents an autonomous managerial concept, although still largely dominated by logistics. SCM endeavors to observe the entire scope of the supply chain. All issues are viewed and resolved in a supply chain perspective, taking into account the interdependency in the supply chain. SCM offers a methodology to relieve the myopic control in the supply chain that has been reinforcing waste and problems.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the alternative procurement procedures that will address the complexity of issues surrounding timber procurement for housing reconstruction after the Tsunami in Banda Aceh. It reviews construction supply chain management (SCM) and procurement philosophies with a project management (PM) perspective to facilitate the logistics of post-disaster reconstruction. Design/methodology/approach -Based on two fieldtrip experiences in Banda Aceh in 2006 (one month) and 2008 (two months) with the housing reconstruction program of an international non-governmental organisation, this paper examines the modern literature on SCM and analyses this process associated with construction material procurement in practice, reviews the problems inherited in the Indonesian context and analyses the proposed procedures of local and international procurement of timber to streamline the supply for reconstruction in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Findings -The incorporation of sustainable considerations into the design of procurement routes in the overall PM process for post-disaster construction should be well recognized. The paper shows that basic SCM philosophies of ensuring stakeholder integration and collaboration could reduce the problems in timber procurement in Banda Aceh. Sustainable construction and triple bottom lines criteria are proposed to ensure a value creation process for a wider stakeholder engagement and overall reconstruction project delivery. Originality/value -The paper provides useful PM insights into SCM and sustainable construction literature. The case study reviews the timber procurement problems and goes further to present two alternative procurement models that could be implemented as more sustainable responses to post-disaster reconstruction in Banda Aceh.

Much has been written on Off-site Manufacture (OSM) in construction, particularly regarding the perceived benefits and barriers to implementation. However, very little understanding of the state of OSM in the Australian construction industry exists. A 'scoping study' has recently been undertaken to determine the 'state-of-the-art' of OSM in Australia. This involved several industry workshops, interviews and case studies across four major states of Australia. The study surveyed a range of suppliers across the construction supply-chain, incorporating the civil, commercial and housing segments of the market. This revealed that skills shortages and lack of adequate OSM knowledge are generally the greatest issues facing OSM in Australia. The drivers and constraints that emerged from the research were, in large measure, consistent with those found in the US and UK, although some Australian anomalies are evident, such as the geographical disparity of markets. A comparative analysis with similar studies in the UK and US is reported, illustrating both the drivers and constraints confronting the industry in Australia. OSM uptake into the future is however dependent on many factors, not least of which is a better understanding of the construction process and its associated costs.

Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organizations systems, especially in construction supply chain (CSC) which is characterized with fragmentation, low efficiency and multiple partners. This research proposes a multi-agent based negotiation platform for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of cooperative decision-making in CSC adopting agent technology and regarding CSC as a typical multi-agent system. General structure of the agent based negotiation platform is designed, which includes two kinds of agent group: specialty agents and service agents. Since different members in CSC have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation model is established by designing negotiation protocol and describing the negotiation process.

There is growing interest in the adoption of concurrent engineering (CE) in the construction industry. While concurrent engineering (CE) is gaining acceptance, some implementation e!orts have not realised their full potential for reducing costs, reducing time, and increasing e$ciency, e!ectiveness and performance for product development e!orts. This is due in part to insu$cient planning to support the implementation. One approach that has been used successfully to improve CE implementation planning is to conduct &readiness assessment' of an organisation and its supply chain participants prior to the introduction of CE. This helps to investigate the extent to which they are ready to adopt concurrent engineering practices. CE readiness assessment tools and models have been developed and used in other industries such as the manufacturing and software engineering industries. This paper discusses CE and its application to the construction, reviews and compares the existing tools and methods for CE readiness assessment, discusses supply chains generally and construction supply chain speci"cally, and stresses the need to assess the readiness of the construction supply chain for the adoption of CE. The paper also presents a new readiness assessment model for the construction industry supply chain, and gives examples of its use to assess construction organisations.

Much has been written on Off-site Manufacture (OSM) in construction, particularly regarding the perceived benefits and barriers to implementation. However, very little understanding of the state of OSM in the Australian construction industry exists. A 'scoping study' has recently been undertaken to determine the 'state-of-the-art' of OSM in Australia. This involved several industry workshops, interviews and case studies across four major states of Australia. The study surveyed a range of suppliers across the construction supply-chain, incorporating the civil, commercial and housing segments of the market. This revealed that skills shortages and lack of adequate OSM knowledge are generally the greatest issues facing OSM in Australia. The drivers and constraints that emerged from the research were, in large measure, consistent with those found in the US and UK, although some Australian anomalies are evident, such as the geographical disparity of markets. A comparative analysis with similar studies in the UK and US is reported, illustrating both the drivers and constraints confronting the industry in Australia. OSM uptake into the future is however dependent on many factors, not least of which is a better understanding of the construction process and its associated costs.

The application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector has evolved over several years. However, although organisations invest in ICT in their bid to harness technology and streamline business processes for improved project management, they continue to experience problems that militate against successful implementation of ICT projects. This results from cultural, organisational and other operational constraints. This paper discusses the trends in IT application for collaborative project management and the IT governance issues that underpin successful implementation of IT projects.

In order to overcome abuses in selecting supply chain partners by invitation to bid and bidding, the paper analyzed the problems in construction supply chain during invitation to bid and bidding, points the out realism of disjoint between the result of invitation to bid and bidding and prompting effect in the construction process. The paper put forth the method of combined radix determination as a method of partner selection by value assessment and performance assessment. The new method established a rational ''motivating agreement'' to motivate contractors to participate while restricting them. It is an effective, operable motivating mechanism. The paper determined the range of factors in the new method, and validated it by a case study.

The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship development process between consultants and a project management firm in Malaysia. Research approach: This qualitative study was based on 6 in-depth semi-structured interviews which were carried out with the owners and senior managers of five consultant firms (an architect, quantity surveyors and structural and civil consultants) and the director of a project management firm. The data were analysed using thematic analysis method. Findings and Originality: Although theoretically, a well developed relationship has to go through five phases of relationship development process (awareness, exploration, expansion, commitment and dissolution), the findings reveal that every consultant's relationship with the project management firm appeared to exhibit additional developmental stages to those which are established within the literature. The results revealed that the practices that lead to a successful or failed inter-organisational relationship are greatly influenced by interpersonal factors rather than the organisation's performance-related factors. Research impact: This study has explored various ways in which the cultural values play significant roles in the development of long term relationships among organisations in the construction supply chain. Practical impact: This study brings new dimensions in the context of inter-organisational construction supply chain through the significant use of cultural values, which could be practiced by other supply chains.

Lead time reduction is a key concern of many industrial buyers of capital facilities given current economic conditions. Supply chain initiatives in manufacturing settings have led owners to expect that dramatic reductions in lead time are possible in all phases of their business, including the delivery of capital materials. Further, narrowing product delivery windows and increasing pressure to be first-tomarket create significant external pressure to reduce lead time. In this paper, a case study is presented in which an owner entered the construction supply chain to procure and position key long-lead materials. The materials were held at a position in the supply chain selected to allow some flexibility for continued customization, but dramatic reduction in the time-to-site. Simulation was used as a tool to consider time-to-site tradeoffs for multiple inventory locations so as to better match the needs of the construction effort.

The construction industry produces one of the most complex and substantially large structures such as buildings, bridges, dams and tunnels using lengthy, network structured and dynamic supply chains with multiple internal and external suppliers. Long and complex supply chains make it difficult to monitor compliance, provide ultimate assurance of the final product and often lead to increased cost with payment delays. The technology that underpins cryptocurrencies is known as blockchain. However, the capabilities of blockchain can be extended far beyond cryptocurrencies. It enables existing applications to be improved and new applications such as blockchain-powered election, healthcare, identity management, power grids, supply chain, property, smart contracts and so on. This paper aims to compute the stakeholders' perspective on blockchain and smart contracts in the construction industry. As the primary data collection methodology, an industry engagement workshop in the form of round-table discussions was conducted. Each round-table comprised of both academics and industry participants with different context from the construction industry. The table composition was four industry practitioners and two academics with the responsibility of moderating the discussion for all six groups. There were 57 responses, and 18 unique perspectives were identified. A word cloud was generated by using the frequency of responses to identify the density of each perspective. The key findings of the data analysis highlighted efficiency, trust, fair, security, transparent, accountability, compliance and standardisation were highlighted as the stakeholders' primary perspective on blockchain and smart contracts based solutions for the construction supply chain. Moreover, meantime highlighted construction industry requirements and drivers of blockchain and smart contracts are reconciled. So, the findings will help in implementing better blockchain solutions to the construction industry in future.

Recent innovative procurement initiatives are challenging traditional ways of procuring construction projects. These initiatives are intended to empower clients to exercise more control over the supply chain and generate more cooperation among project participants. The initiatives aim to integrate the supply chain, create greater trust, introduce a pain and gain culture, and reuse the knowledge on succeeding projects. This paper, with examples from the UK construction industry, presents how clients are integrating the downstream supply chain members. Critical factors in integrating suppliers and manufacturers were identified and the benefits of innovative procurement resulting in the integration of downstream supply chain members were analysed in detail through two case studies. The paper concludes that through clients' initiatives, there is a great potential to utilise the expertise and knowledge of suppliers and manufacturers at the outset of a project to achieve effective planning and delivery of the whole project, with greater supply chain integration.

Much research work has assessed that construction is ineffective and many problems can be observed. Analysis of these problems has shown that a major part of them are supply chain problems, originating at the interfaces of different parties or functions. There have been several kinds of initiatives aiming at improvement and renewal of construction supply chains, but only few have a track record of consequent and significant successes.

This paper describes ongoing research on the Scalable Extraction of Enterprise Knowledge (SEEK) project. The SEEK toolkit is a collection of modular components. The components enable rapid instantiation of connections to firms' legacy information sources, (semi)-automatically integrating knowledge in the firm with knowledge needed as input to decision support tools. SEEK is not a general-purpose toolkit. Rather, it allows extraction of knowledge required by specific types of decision support applications. Thus SEEK enables scalable implementation of computerized decision and negotiation support across a network of firms. Current development is directed towards support for construction supply chain applications. SEEK represents a departure from research and development in shared data standards. Instead, SEEK embraces heterogeneity in firms' information systems, providing the ability to extract and compose knowledge resident in sources that vary in the way data is represented and how it can be queried and accessed. This paper outlines the business needs for such capabilities, the SEEK information architecture, and reviews the underlying technologies (principally, Data Reverse Engineering) supporting SEEK. KEYWORDS: legacy system integration, knowledge capture, knowledge composition, data reverse engineering, supply chain management, process models. Itcon Vol.7 (2002); O'Brien et al;, pg. 101 with regard to the user's ability to coordinate pre-planning and responses to changed conditions .

With the advancement of information technology and increased market competition, construction companies are driven to employ supply chain management strategies to seek competitive advantage. Managing logistics is one component at the core of such strategies. An effective logistics system ensures delivery of the right products and services to the right customers at the right time while minimizing costs and rewarding all participants based on value added to the supply chain. As a component of a logistics system, logistics centres can serve the construction industry by offering services such as: storage, transport, distribution, assembly, kitting, consolidation, sorting, breaking bulk, cross-docking, and e-commerce. This paper focuses on the role logistics centres may play and the impact they may have on construction supply chains. Construction companies may configure their logistics centres in different ways to match their global and local supply chain strategy, while addressing challenges posed by variation in demand and supply for material, equipment, and services. A hypothesis is that logistics centres are underused in this industry, yet may offer considerable advantage. The ultimate aim of the research that is reported on here is developing a logistics system to support project-based production needs. The authors present a simulation model of a logistic centre that supports multiple site stores on different construction projects facing variations in supply lead times. The objective of the simulation is to find an approach to reduce material management costs while avoiding resource shortages, and enhancing both reliability and responsiveness of the supply chain.

A case study is presented that documents the most common configuration of the supply chain for pipe supports used in power plants in the USA. This supply chain, like many others in construction, has numerous inefficiencies, many of which occur at the interfaces between processes, disciplines or organizations. Recognizing and understanding such inefficiencies, their causes and potential remedies provides a basis for process re-engineering. The study describes how today's industry practices are changing to yield shorter supply chain lead ...

Job satisfaction has received immense attention in organizational research. It is proven as one of the key factors that contribute to productivity. The focus of this study was to examine factors affecting job satisfaction of employees in the local building construction industry in Ghana. Quantitative survey based research approach was used in the study. One hundred and fifty eight (158) employees working in selected construction organisations in the Ashanti Region of Ghana were involved in the study. Primary data was collected through questionnaire instrument and analysed using descriptive statistical tool with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. The findings indicated that non-wage based factors such as recognition, task itself, work environment, supervision and job security appeared to influence job satisfaction than wage paid to the employees in the construction sector. Managers in construction supply chain should make policies and incorporate ...

This paper describes ongoing research on the Scalable Extraction of Enterprise Knowledge (SEEK) project. The SEEK toolkit is a collection of modular components. The components enable rapid instantiation of connections to firms' legacy information sources, (semi)-automatically integrating knowledge in the firm with knowledge needed as input to decision support tools. SEEK is not a general-purpose toolkit. Rather, it allows extraction of knowledge required by specific types of decision support applications. Thus SEEK enables scalable implementation of computerized decision and negotiation support across a network of firms. Current development is directed towards support for construction supply chain applications. SEEK represents a departure from research and development in shared data standards. Instead, SEEK embraces heterogeneity in firms' information systems, providing the ability to extract and compose knowledge resident in sources that vary in the way data is represented and how it can be queried and accessed. This paper outlines the business needs for such capabilities, the SEEK information architecture, and reviews the underlying technologies (principally, Data Reverse Engineering) supporting SEEK. KEYWORDS: legacy system integration, knowledge capture, knowledge composition, data reverse engineering, supply chain management, process models. Itcon Vol.7 (2002); O'Brien et al;, pg. 101 with regard to the user's ability to coordinate pre-planning and responses to changed conditions .

The suppliers’ performance plays a vital role, with a domino effect, in project success, organizational competitiveness, protecting supply chain and construction industry from disruptions and PESTEL risks (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal). Therefore, measuring the performance of the construction suppliers has become the primary focus of project-oriented organizations and the core of business decision-making, especially during global megatrends. The question that may arise here is, “How can the performance of the construction suppliers be determined under uncertainties considering the post-COVID-19 era?” Organizations need eligible suppliers for the rapid recovery of the supply chain and construction sector at this critical stage. Given the importance of the issue, this study aims to propose a novel approach for measuring the performance of construction suppliers using the fuzzy ordinal priority approach (OPA-F). OPA-F is a recent development in multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) that can determine the criteria weights for performance measurement using fuzzy linguistic variables. We do not always have access to a complete data set in real-world situations and business environments. Nevertheless, OPA-F can handle this dilemma, even with incomplete input data. This research intends to consider three main aspects of the construction suppliers, known as (L-A-D) capabilities, including localization, agility, and digitalization. In this regard, we bring up a case study from the construction industry to demonstrate the application of the proposed framework. The findings show that the most critical criterion is “digitalization” for the case study. This criterion covers “supply chain automation” and “virtualization and dematerialization” of services/products. The proposed approach is practical and straightforward, particularly for academicians and decision-makers; it can also incorporate uncertainties.

Research on blockchain technology implementation within civil engineering is quickly emerging. The use of blockchain for the integration of the material and economic flows within construction supply chain -thus creating a new digital business model for the related actors -to enhance a construction project's production, logistics management, and constructability, has been only scarcely investigated. In this paper, this shortage is documented through a comprehensive literature review. Then, the potential of Swedish independent third-party logistics consultants as a fertile ground for such a digital business model, is examined. Finally, conclusions about the pursuance of this potential paradigm shift are drawn.