Wood, H L and Ashton, P (2007) An investigation to identify the role of pre-construction site investigative information used by small medium sized enterprises (SME). In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 23rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2007, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
Risk and uncertainty are an inherent part of any construction project and may be a major factor contributing to the success of the project. Whilst Site Investigation (SI) information is considered a pre-requisite of any construction project, questions remain regarding the effective use of such data and how this affects the project complexity at the pre-construction stage by SME’s on Design-and-Build (D&B) projects (Ashton 2003). This research programme is part of a global research project aimed at establishing the consequences and link between pre-construction information and project complexity. This paper provides the initial findings from a pilot survey aimed at establishing the current use and role of site investigative data having been awarded a standard D&B JCT 1998 contract. Previous research (Ashton 2003) established that inadequate and subjective methods were used to determine the extent and appropriateness of investigative work and that a significant problem resulted from a lack of understanding regarding complexity, risk and uncertainty associated with pre-construction planning. It also considers those factors that SME’s considered critical to the efficient use and comprehension of the pre-construction SI information and suggests ways in which the role of this information could be used to enhance D&B projects. This work has provided a series of recommendations and identified the need for a standardized recording mechanism to capture and present SI information to SME’s, in order that this data can be used more effectively.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | site investigation information; risk; project planning; SME |
| Index terms: | investigation, programme, site investigation, survey, project complexity, construction project, JCT, pre-construction, project planning, global research, complexity |
| Subjects: | professional development, control systems, organizational theory, geotechnical engineering, project delivery, production management, data collection methods, systems engineering, standard forms of contract, project controls |
| Topics: | Time Control, Project Management, Procurement, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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