Levitt, R E (2007) CEM research for the next 50 years: Maximizing economic, environmental, and societal value of the built environment. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 133(9), pp. 619-628. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Construction engineering and management (CEM) research over the past 50 years has focused on extending and applying management and computer science approaches to minimize cost during the implementation phase of construction projects. Three emerging trends suggest the need to broaden the frame of future CEM research in several ways: (1) more integrated delivery of design, planning, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure requires us to broaden the focus of construction engineering and management research across the entire facility lifecycle; (2) rapid globalization of the construction industry requires new governance structures for projects that can bridge across the gaps in values, beliefs, norms, work practices, and laws between participants from different countries; and (3) heightened global awareness of, and demands for, enhanced sustainability requires new approaches, methods, and tools to incorporate sustainability issues in the early phases of the facility development process. Building on ASCE's 2006 Vision for the Future of Civil Engineering. This paper elaborates each of these three trends and draws implications for refocusing and redirecting construction engineering and management research, education, and civic leadership in the next 50 years.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; economic factors; environmental issues; life cycles; research; social factors; sustainable development |
| Index terms: | environmental issue, management research, science, sustainable development, construction project, work practice, globalization, norms, governance, life cycle, social factor, construction engineering, built environment, lifecycle, implementation, economic factor, construction industry |
| Subjects: | economic factors, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, sociology, economic concepts, production management, health safety and environment, engineering methods, management, project delivery, contractual arrangements, value management, specialized education, environmental issues, business, research design and methodology |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Project Management, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Governance, Procurement, International Construction, Urban Studies, Education, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here