Choi, Seogjae (2024) Addressing material-related issues in industrial construction projects: The state of supplier involvement in project planning and the barriers to information sharing. PhD thesis, University of Texas at Austin, USA.
Abstract
Material-related issues caused by uncertainty in planning result in schedule delays, cost overruns, and rework in industrial construction projects. The construction industry and researchers have applied CSCM (construction supply chain management) to address material-related issues in industrial construction projects. This allows stakeholders to recognize interdependencies between organizations and activities, so they can handle the issues proactively while minimizing the impact on project performance. Despite the efforts to address the issues, recent industrial construction projects suffer materials delivered differently from plan and request. To contribute to addressing material-related issues in industrial construction projects, this work examined the industry's state regarding two key enablers for CSCM identified by a systematic literature review: 1) material suppliers' engagement in project planning and 2) information sharing between organizations. To address the argument over the involvement timing of relatively standardized material suppliers, this work highlighted material supplier perspectives and compared different organizations' opinions. The results show that even bulk, common, and make-to-order material suppliers can resolve common issues in material delivery and create value for industrial construction projects through involvement in the planning phase. Not only suppliers but also all stakeholder types agree with the need for such suppliers' involvement in project planning. The study respondents considered that multiple issues were commonly caused by the untimely involvement of such suppliers and various benefits could be achieved through early involvement. This finding challenges past studies supporting transactional relationships with such suppliers to pursue a low initial price and preserve supplier selection flexibility. This suggests that other factors than material type should be considered to determine involvement time. Once all stakeholders engage in the project, information sharing is vital to leverage their expertise during project execution. To investigate information sharing between organizations, another key enabler for CSCM, this work employs SCV (supply chain visibility) of industrial construction projects between the phases of detailed design and construction. This study is dedicated to enhancing SCV improvement initiatives by examining its impediments. It specifically addresses three major barriers—technological, organizational, and contractual—and utilizes 10 critical decisions and 79 information needs to inform these decisions. The Delphi method was employed to measure the extent of barriers, achieving a consensus among experts with reduced bias. The findings indicate that industrial projects continue to encounter moderate to significant barriers in informing key decisions. Notably, contractual and organizational issues outweigh technological ones for most information needs. Considering the predominant focus on technological issues in recent research, there is a need to redirect attention to enhance information sharing effectively. This study introduces new insights into the two key enablers of CSCM, proposing ways to optimize CSCM implementation and thus diminish material-related problems in industrial projects.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | O’Brien, William; Caldas, Carlos; Leite, Fernanda and Morrice, Douglas |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | supply chain; construction; information sharing; material; supply chain visibility |
| Index terms: | construction industry, systematic literature review, design and construction, industrial construction, organizational issue, information sharing, project performance, schedule delay, supply chain visibility, rework, implementation, Delphi method, construction supply chain, cost overrun, bias, project planning |
| Subjects: | construction logistics, building construction, business, control systems, supplier oversight, financial and cost management, contractual arrangements, data collection methods, operations management, project controls, industry analysis, data exchange, research evaluation and metrics, project management theory and practice, probability and distributions |
| Topics: | Procurement, Engineering Principles, Time Control, Cost Management, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Digital Applications |
| 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