Shelbourn, M; Bouchlaghem, N M; Anumba, C and Carrillo, P (2007) Planning and implementation of effective collaboration in construction projects. Construction Innovation, 7(4), pp. 357-377. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose – The twenty-first century is now seen as the time for the construction industry to embrace new ways of working if it is to continue to be competitive and meet the needs of its ever demanding clients. Collaborative working is considered by many to be essential if design and construction teams are to consider the whole lifecycle of the construction process. Much of the recent work undertaken on collaborative working has focused on the delivery of technological solutions with a focus on web (extranets), CAD (visualisation), and knowledge management technologies. However, it is now recognised that good collaboration does not result from the implementation of information technology solutions alone, the organisational and people issues, which are not readily solved by pure technical systems, need also to be resolved. This paper aims to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Work discussed in this paper brings together the benefits provided by technology, with organisational issues, and people issues, in developing a framework to implement effective collaboration. The research uses a literature search, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to gain the industry's requirements for effective collaboration in the construction sector. From these requirements a develop-test-refine approach was taken to develop the methodology for effective collaborative working for construction. Findings – The findings reported in this paper are a summary of the results from the semi-structured interviews and questionnaire used to gain the industry's requirements. They show that a focus on the “softer” issues (business process and an organisations' people) rather than a technology focus is needed to plan and implement collaborative working more effectively in projects. An initial approach is discussed in this paper concerning a structured approach to be developed further in the research to highlight to the industry the issues associated with the planning and implementation of effective collaborative working in projects. Originality/value – This paper uses a socio-technical approach to the planning and implementation of effective collaborative working in construction. It combines technology with the people and business aspects of collaborative working to provide an approach which can enable stakeholders in a project to benefit fully from having a collaborative working approach to their projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction operations; decision making; project planning |
| Index terms: | questionnaire, construction process, methodology, decision-making, construction project, collaboration, information technology, knowledge management, project planning, visualization, construction sector, interview, design and construction, lifecycle, organizational issue, implementation, construction industry, socio-technical, construction operation |
| Subjects: | project delivery, construction operations, contractual arrangements, business, data collection methods, control systems, computing systems, building construction, decision analysis, industry analysis, research methods, management, design practice, professional development, production management |
| Topics: | Risk Management, Procurement, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Research Practice, Project Management, Organizational Design, Site Management, Digital Applications, Design 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