Papers by David Greenwood
Buildings, 2022
Buildings have a significant impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions. Smart buildings a... more Buildings have a significant impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions. Smart buildings are deemed to play a crucial role in improving the energy performance of buildings and cities. Managing a smart building requires the modelling of data concerning smart systems and components. While there is a significant amount of research on optimising building energy using the smart building concept, there is a dearth of studies investigating the modelling and management of smart systems’ data, which is the starting point for establishing the necessary digital environment for representing a smart building. This study aimed to develop and test a solution for modelling and managing smart building information using an industry foundation classes (IFCs)-based BIM process. A conceptual model expressed in the SysML language was proposed to define a smart building. Five BIM approaches were identified as potential ‘prototypes’ for representing and exchanging smart building information. The fid...
This paper draws attention to project trade-offs significance in project management and criticall... more This paper draws attention to project trade-offs significance in project management and critically reviews the current state of the knowledge on the elements to be considered and the methods to resolve trade-off decisions. Traditionally the elements to be considered in trade-offs are mainly limited to time and cost and to some extent quality or risk or the well-known Project Triangle. The trade-off methods are also dominantly developed based on mathematical models familiar in Operations Research. The limitations of traditional approaches in identifying trade-off elements; the constraints of the common methods of trade-off resolution; and the necessity of compatibility between resolution methods and features of trade-off decisions are highlighted. The researchers‟ approach and methodology to fill the gap between the realities of project trade-off decisions mainly based on the compatibility of the decision problem characteristics and capabilities of the decision making method are desc...
Automation in Construction, 2020
This paper proposes a new approach to creating Building Information (BIM) models of existing buil... more This paper proposes a new approach to creating Building Information (BIM) models of existing buildings from digitized images. This automatic approach is based on three main steps. The first involves extracting the useful information automatically from rasterized plans by using image processing techniques that include segmentation, filtering, dilation, erosion, and contour detection. This information feeds the knowledge base of an expert system for BIM model generation. In the second step, using the knowledge base of the expert system, the information required to inform the BIM model can be deduced. The range of information thus obtainable can be extended beyond the examples given. The paper concludes with a discussion of the final stage: the automatic generation of an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) information model with all the desired geometric, physical and technical information. This can be accomplished by using one of the available open-source application program interfaces (APIs). This stage is currently work-in-progress and will be the subject of a future publication.
The concept of the 'project triangle', together with the related issues of project tradeoffs and ... more The concept of the 'project triangle', together with the related issues of project tradeoffs and project success factors are frequently discussed together in project management (PM) literature. However, these discussions rarely examine their interconnection critically. As a consequence, the models that are developed from and for these concepts are not properly connected; essentially, the tradeoff and triangle models can only deal with a limited range of project success elements. This paper is a conceptual study to highlight the significance of this 'triple connection' through a comprehensive review of PM literature. It then compares the traditional approach with suggested alternative ways of dealing with the concepts separately and jointly. Finally, the features of an improved framework for making tradeoff decisions are identified and discussed.
The building industry has many challenges, such as growing demand for affordable housing, increas... more The building industry has many challenges, such as growing demand for affordable housing, increasing construction costs, relying on unskilled labour and failing to produce acceptable quality of construction outputs. These challenges are prevalent in most country in the world including Malaysia and have always been associated with adherence to existing practices and a reluctance to accept innovations. This situation has prompted policy-makers in Malaysia to set targets for the introduction of Industrialised Building System (IBS) but the aims have yet to be accomplished. Based on the System Functions approach, this paper aims to create an understanding of the IBS development pattern in Malaysian housing construction from 1963 to 2010. The data was collected from archive data and verified with interviews. From the findings, positive perception in IBS and government policy on IBS development are the two inducement mechanisms identified. Meanwhile, uncertainties of IBS opportunities among potential construction clients, inadequate knowledge of relative between investments and benefits, inconsistencies of demand for IBS application, lack of IBS suppliers, and unpreparedness among construction designers and contractors are the discovered blocking mechanism. Based on this development pattern, the blocking mechanisms identified are stronger vigorous and have decelerated IBS development in Malaysian housing projects.
There is evidence that higher degrees of collaborative working can produce more successful projec... more There is evidence that higher degrees of collaborative working can produce more successful project performance, but there is only limited research to systematically examine the specific associations between collaborative working and project performance. In particular, there is a lack of exploration of appropriate approaches to test these associations. In order to test these associations in an appropriate approach, the concepts of collaborative working and project performance in this research are transformed into a measurable form in terms of the philosophy of AHP (analytic hierarchy process). In the process of measurement design for collaborative working and project performance, a Likert Scale is adopted. After refining the final measures through unidimensionality and reliability testing, as a part of PhD study, this paper presents the results of the association exploration between collaborative working and project performance. The produced conclusion is strongly supporting that there is a strong positive linear relationship between collaborative working and project performance.
PICMET '07 - 2007 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology, 2007
Good project management practice has been a major research theme over the last few decades with i... more Good project management practice has been a major research theme over the last few decades with its practical impact on successful implementation of organisational strategy, becoming more paramount as business objectives become more closely linked to the lowering of prices and improvement in quality of service. It is expected that such strategy is delivered by information systems and technology. Unfortunately the need to develop and deliver innovative Information Systems and Technology projects is constrained by the belief that such projects are always going on for longer than expected. In addition, they fail to meet user requirements or a return on investment. Against this background, there have been repeated reports of very high failure rates of such projects, which indicate that businesses need to be concerned. The approach taken to examine IS&T failure at this stage of the development of this theme is non empirical. It also avoids the traditional approach of examining the entire project lifecycle. Instead, it concentrates on examining success criteria of the project from the service introduction stage.
In the scheduling of construction projects, conflicts can arise when activities require resources... more In the scheduling of construction projects, conflicts can arise when activities require resources that are available in limited quantities. Mathematical techniques exist for allocating resources whilst retaining minimum project durations. One such technique is ‘LINRES’, a heuristic algorithm devised by researchers at Northumbria University in the UK who demonstrated the advantages of LINRES over 32 existing heuristic rules, in trials on a hypothetical project (Abeyasinge et al., 2001). Following this hypothetical test of the algorithm, the present paper reports on the live implementation and empirical testing of LINRES on a real project. The project was an important section of the Shariati Combined-cycle power plant, carried-out by the MAPNA Company in Iran: namely, the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). Research was carried out to investigate if the LINRES algorithm could improve the scheduling of the HRSG construction, which took place in 2002. Data from the project were simult...
For over fifty years, dating back to the Simon report (1944), commentators on the UK construction... more For over fifty years, dating back to the Simon report (1944), commentators on the UK construction industry have been lamenting the design-construct divorce and advocating earlier contractor involvement to produce, inter alia, better quality buildings. Since 2003 a substantial part of the addition to the value of UK new building stock has been in the form of schools. Most have been delivered through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme and the majority of projects within BSF have been procured under a modified PFI (PPP) system. This of course means that early contractor involvement is a 'given'. Despite this, in 2006 a CABE report on new schools was still critical of their quality. The paper explores whether other factors – in particular the degree and timing of user-engagement – have had an influence on the quality of the end product, and presents a method for testing this. Keywords: building schools for the future, design process, design quality indicator, us...
The need for a major re-think of our approach to project management education has begun to emerge... more The need for a major re-think of our approach to project management education has begun to emerge. This re-think is being driven by the growing dominance of project management as the model of delivery in many private and public sector organisation across a wide range of requirements and its limited success in achieving all objectives. Sustained development of project managers is here considered to depend on adopting a radical approach to their education which focuses on encouraging their development as competent reflective and creative professionals.
One of the main problematical operational issues in construction projects is the co-ordination of... more One of the main problematical operational issues in construction projects is the co-ordination of building materials to arrive on site at the right time, in the right quantities, and at an acceptable quality level. The number and details of the steps involved in the material life cycle indicate the complex nature of the process and the potential for problems in the process for even a relatively small project. This heightens the need for more flexible and sophisticated project management tools to support collaborative geographically dispersed participants in the simultaneous planning and scheduling of tasks, and their execution, and they must highlight the critical technical and business risks that challenge successful material procurement. This work illustrates the use of a SharePoint environment to tackle problems in the interesting field of material supply chain, from the point of view that collaborative working is necessary in the materials supply chain environment. Hence, it jus...
In developing techniques for monitoring the costs associated with different procurement routes, t... more In developing techniques for monitoring the costs associated with different procurement routes, the central task is disentanglingthe various project costs incurred by organizationstaking part in construction projects. While all firms are familiar with the need to analyse their own costs, it is unusual to apply the same kind of analysis to projects. The purpose of this research is to
There are two ways to analyze the problem of construction nonperformance (not on time, not meetin... more There are two ways to analyze the problem of construction nonperformance (not on time, not meeting the quality expectations of the owner, and not having cost increase change orders). The first is a project-specific approach, which assumes that the problems are being caused by the uniqueness of each project. This approach stresses: finding solutions in better trained personnel and craftspeople, more standards, construction management, and inspection. The other is a process approach, which assumes that the problems are being caused by the process. Performance-based procurement uses the process approach. It hypothesizes that the current price-based design-bid-build procurement process is inefficient, supports an adversarial environment, is devoid of performance information, is highly inefficient, maximizes management and inspection instead of quality control, and treats highly differential construction products and services as commodities. The Performance Information Procurement System...
With spending for computer and networking hardware, software and services projected to exceed a t... more With spending for computer and networking hardware, software and services projected to exceed a trillion pounds by 2005, the potential for greater involvement of ICT in the creation of organisation wealth could be hampered by an extremely high rate of project failures in ICT industry projects. The poor performance of the ICT industry in deploying its products has been demonstrated
Construction Research Congress 2005, 2005
Construction Research Congress 2005, 2005
ABSTRACT A ten year study of construction performance has resulted in a conclusion that construct... more ABSTRACT A ten year study of construction performance has resulted in a conclusion that construction industry performance problems are being caused by the client's delivery process. The hypothesis of the research is that the client has created a price-based environment which forces a technical solution to construction issues. Modeling has been created which deductively shows that the problem is being caused by the client's selection of contractors rather than the type of delivery process (design-bid-build, design-build, or CM@Risk). A solution is proposed in the paper which uses the concepts of outsourcing, quality control (rather than management and inspection), continuous improvement with minimal client control, and a process based upon leadership rather than management principles. One of the major design requirements for the process is that the client must receive best value (best performance at the lowest possible cost) and the contractor must maximize their profit. The deductive design is supported by test results over the past ten years.
International Journal of Project Management, 2001
In construction scheduling, conflicts can arise when activities require common resources that are... more In construction scheduling, conflicts can arise when activities require common resources that are available only in limited quantities. To overcome this, while retaining minimum project durations, mathematical techniques have been developed for allocating resources. ...
International Journal of Project Management, 2006
Design-and-build delivery has become a significant alternative to the more traditional design-bid... more Design-and-build delivery has become a significant alternative to the more traditional design-bid-build, though the level of its use varies from country to country. This research investigates the entry strategies of foreign contractors in China and their use of design-and-build, set against the country's evolving construction project procurement regulations and practice. Entry strategies are analyzed in two dimensions -entry modes and market targeting -and based on this a conceptual model of foreign contractors' entry strategy is presented, which proposes a focus on foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, on design-and-build capacity, and on collaboration with Chinese design institutes.
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Papers by David Greenwood