Tawfiq, O H (2007) Doing contracting differently. PhD thesis, University of Bristol, UK.
Abstract
In this study it is demonstrated that systems thinking can be used to identify, locate and manage risks to construction projects. The work set out in this study corroborated the hypothesis of 'Doing construction Differently' in the UK by implementing it practically in Aziz Co. - a construction company in Saudi Arabia. The methodology encompassed the principles of other modern management techniques such as value management, value engineering, lean construction, total quality management, partnering, supply chain management, benchmarking, best practice and respect for people principles. An approach was developed for a program based on twelve years of practical experience by the author in Saudi Arabia which combined these modern management techniques through systems thinking. The complete program was developed based on process modelling and performance measurement to manage and run the day to day business of a construction company. Process modelling was used to manage technical and human uncertainties at various levels in the organisation hierarchy to continuously improve it. The process models were produced after grouping team members in Aziz Co. followed by identifying all the processes within a construction project and associated explicit success criteria and objectives for each process. This study facilitated the establishment of a completely new quality management record and practice for a construction company that had no existing systems at all. The system was inspected and accredited with the ISO: 9001 compliance certificate from UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Services). Aziz Co. was able to expand its business by satisfying major clients' qualification requirements and gained new projects exceeding five times the scale of previous projects.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Saudi Arabia; UK; United Kingdom; benchmarking; best practice; compliance; lean construction; measurement; partnering; process modelling; quality management; respect for people; supply chain management; systems thinking; total quality management; value engineering; value management |
| Index terms: | qualification, Saudi Arabia, performance measurement, partnering, value management, best practice, quality management, process modelling, systems thinking, success criteria, total quality management, lean construction, ISO, compliance, construction company, value engineering, United Kingdom, program, construction project, respect for people, methodology, benchmarking |
| Subjects: | business, value management, standards development, evaluation methods, management, performance measurement, software systems, partnership management, organization, design analysis, ethical practice, analytical methods, research methods, educational resources, production management, health safety and environment, Geography, assessment methods, building construction, quality assurance |
| Topics: | Value Management, Quality Management, Education, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Project Management, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Site Management, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management |
| 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