Vahabi, A; Nasirzadeh, F and Mills, A (2022) Influence of briefing clarity on construction projects: A fuzzy hybrid simulation approach. Construction Management and Economics, 40(4), pp. 278-295. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Predicting brief clarity and assessing its impact on project performance at an early stage of the project delivery can aid in mitigating possible cost overruns and delays. However, this is extremely challenging because of two main issues: the complexity of multiple interrelationships between factors influenced by the briefing process, and the lack of data at the early stage of the project delivery. This study proposes a hybrid simulation approach that addresses these issues and models the influence of briefing clarity on project cost and time performance. This was achieved by developing a system dynamics (SD) model of the briefing process. The initial brief clarity is predicted using a fuzzy control system. The fuzzy outcomes were compiled into the SD model, and the obtained hybrid model was validated. Finally, the model was applied to refurbishment projects to evaluate its efficiency. The implication for the refurbishment projects shows that by clearly defining the brief, it significantly reduces the detailed design and construction cost and duration. The results confirm that the proposed hybrid method can be effective in evaluating the impact of briefing clarity on project performance, particularly at an early stage where there is a lack of project data.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | briefing process; fuzzy control system; initial brief clarity; system dynamics |
| Index terms: | refurbishment project, briefing, project delivery, hybrid simulation, efficiency, duration, time performance, cost overrun, construction project, complexity, project performance, project cost, control system, system dynamics, design and construction, project data |
| Subjects: | performance management, production management, project management theory and practice, financial and cost management, scope management, project delivery, modelling and simulation, systems engineering, infrastructure engineering, economics, computing systems, project controls, data collection methods, contractual arrangements, monitoring and control |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Cost Management, Project Management, Digital Applications, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Time Control, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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