McCarney, M and Gibb, A G (2012) Interface management from an offsite construction perspective. In: Smith, S D (ed.) Proceedings of 28th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2012, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
This paper is the subject of an ongoing PhD study with the primary research question: what is the relationship between offsite and interface management? While interface management takes many forms, the focus of this study has been organizational interface management to determine the various process and people factors, which have an effect on efficiency. The literature on offsite construction has been analysed to determine the relationship of the process and people factors identified. The changing nature of the construction process to a more specialist sub-contractor format has created new problems in the management of interfaces, none more so than the interfaces that have emerged from the offsite production and onsite incorporation of bathroom construction. The focus of the research is to determine a pragmatic framework of the main process and people factors which have an impact on the interface management of offsite and onsite forms of bathrooms/wet rooms. This paper includes a summary of a literature review on offsite and interface management. A pilot study using semi-structured interviews was carried out with six academics and industry practitioners to gauge the validity of the questions and the relevance of the 16 factors. The data gained from the pilot study was analysed using a five point Likert scale. This paper focuses on the process factor of design management and the people factor of communication. The results from the small sample clearly indicate the importance of early engagement of the contractor in the design process and that open communication between all stakeholders is essential to resolving organizational interfaces issues. The results of this study have also confirmed that the management of interfaces are of equal, if not more importance when incorporating offsite forms of bathroom construction into the construction process. In conclusion further research is required to determine the main factors, which will impact on successful organizational interface management.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | interface management; offsite construction; people factors; process factors |
| Index terms: | construction process, design management, interface management, Likert scale, practitioner, literature review, validity, specialist sub-contractor, interview, efficiency, onsite, design process |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, design methods, practitioner, evaluation and assessment methods, data collection methods, business, building construction, design process, performance management |
| Topics: | Site Management, Design Practice, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Business Strategy, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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