Guevara, M; Guevara, J; Vargas, H and Ozuna, A (2011) Promoting good design management practices in colombian construction projects. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Managing the design of Architectural/Engineering/Construction (AEC) projects has usually been portrayed as a complex activity by many recent international research articles. Despite of the increased worldwide interest, there have not been found any design management investigation in Colombia. Thus, the main objective of this on-going study is to generate a conceptual design-management framework for a local engineering design firm. The study has been divided in two stages, diagnosis and implementation, and only the diagnosis phase is reported in this document. This stage includes an analysis of the particular design processes set by the company, establishing good practices, highlighting areas of improvement, and proposing recommendations. The research was conducted through two case studies. It has been found that this particular design firm has implemented good practices in terms of establishing long-term relationships with some of its clients, and developed a knowledge management information system. However, supply chain integration, client requirements management, risk management, and constructability reviews are the major suggested areas of improvement. As a consequence, it is clear that the main barrier to overcome these design difficulties, is the interaction with the external corporate environment. Therefore, the design-management framework proposed is based on recommendations directed towards creating multidisciplinary design teams and promoting a better relationship with clients and final users.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | conceptual framework; design management; engineering consultancy |
| Index terms: | design firm, case study, design process, design team, Colombia, good practice, construction project, design management, engineering design, investigation, risk management, client requirements management, conceptual framework, conceptual design, constructability, information system, implementation, interaction, consultancy, knowledge management, supply chain integration |
| Subjects: | professional practice, supply chain integration, contractual arrangements, data collection methods, risk assessment, organization, design methods, practitioner, behavioral psychology, information systems, design practice, theoretical framing, performance measurement, construction integration, production management, Geography, professional development, design process |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Procurement, Risk Management, Roles and Professions, Supply Chain Management, Quality Management, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Organizational Design |
| 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