COST ASSESSMENT OF PRECONSTRUCTION PHASE FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN EGYPT

The construction industry is concerned with satisfying its customers’ needs through delivering projects that achieve their objectives and meet their expectations on time, within budget and as specified. Despite the several housing programmes constructed by government authorities, there is a real housing problem for the poor. This problem is attributed to a number of reasons. Amongst them, the T inability of the low-incomers to cover the cost of supplied houses and the lack of the constructed projects to achieve users’ satisfaction. This highlighted the need to develop innovative and creative solutions that can deliver housing projects that achieve the satisfaction of their users and at the most-cost effective manner simultaneously. This aim will be achieved through incorporating the concepts of Value Management (VM) and Risk Management (RM) in developing housing projects for the poor. Towards studies of low-income housing projects constructed by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Musaffah commercial city. Finally, outlining the research recommendations for government authorities, design firms and construction professionals concerned with housing projects for the poor.

Moreover, there is an increasing amount of literature covering specific geotechnical risk analysis and management topics. Examples of these are the difference between unsafe geotechnical certainty and safe geotechnical uncertainty (Barends, 2005), the role of the human factor in achieving geotechnical reliability (Bea, 2006), objective and subjective ways of geotechnical risk classification (Altabba et al., 2004), and contractual allocation of geotechnical risk (Essex, 2007).

The concept and application of Risk management has become very popular and essential in a number of businesses. Many companies have their well defined and structured risk management procedures for improving their performance in businesses. The construction industry comprises of intricate and dynamic task or project environment which creates an environment of high uncertainties and risks. The business is additionally helpless against different specialized, technical, financial, political, socio economical and business risks. The history to adapt up to these risks in major construction industries are not full proof or up to the expectation. As a result, the organizations working in such industries normally come across with various obstacles, such as maintaining the quality standards, project specification, operational requirements, cost overruns and delays in project completion. Risk management is a technical tool or process which consists of identification of risks, their assessment and then the mitigation of such risks. Therefore in present study, various data have been collected at random through questionnaire survey and open interviews conducted at various available resources. Such data have been analyzed carefully to find out the suitable mitigation processes and how to avoid and minimize the dispute as far as practicable. This paper mainly aimed towards the exploring of the causes that lead to the risk in major construction projects, assessing its magnitude and recommendations on how it can be mitigated in the most efficient manner in order to complete and close the contract with minimum loss of time and money.KeywordsConstruction projectsContractRisksRisk managementConflictDispute resolution

The concept of value engineering (VE) is used to optimise the cost, time, quality, and functional performance toward achieving the best value for client money. However, the application of VE in construction industries is limited as there are differences in the use of the VE concept to developing economies, application of cost-oriented procurement systems, and lack of a practically applicable framework. In the local construction context, VE is practiced in an ad hoc manner. Therefore, the current study aimed to develop a framework including a tailored approach to enhance the VE application in the building construction industry. A qualitative approach was adapted to solicit views of twenty-two (22) construction professionals who involved in the six (6) high-rise building construction projects and practiced the VE concept. Views of professionals were synthesised using content analysis and finally developed a framework including a tailored VE approach. The findings conclude that cost and time as the main value criteria which motivate the VE application. Further, VE application in the construction industry is initiated mostly in the construction stages while professionals’ preference is laid on the initial project phases. Consequently, the contractor change proposal was identified as the sound approach to deliver VE since motivations emerge during physical construction. Finally, a tailored VE approach was developed considering concept design, developed design, and construction stages with related VE motivations to enhance the VE application in the Sri Lankan building construction context in a simplified manner.

Both risk analysis and risk management are required for answering today's challenging construction project demands. The targeted result of combining risk analysis with risk management is a successful project, which satisfies the expectations of its stakeholders. This paper aims to assist geotechnical professionals with extending from traditional risk analysis towards risk management, by presenting some experiences and guidelines. These are derived from geotechnical practice and ongoing geotechnical risk management research, which actually takes place in The Netherlands. It also integrates professional experiences from a number of other countries, such as China, the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The paper starts by defining and describing the concepts of risk analysis and risk management, while stressing that both complement each other. Risk analysis and risk management are blended in one geotechnical risk management framework: the GeoQ risk management process. The anticipated (financial) benefits of applying risk management are also highlighted. Next, some common barriers are presented, which may prevent geotechnical professionals from extending their activities to risk management. These barriers can be lowered, and under certain circumstances can even be eliminated. However, this will require the professional's motivation to apply risk management and the availability of at least some risk management tools. In addition, it is likely that some kind of training will be needed for gaining the attitude and skills for applying risk management. Non-geotechnical decision makers turn up in any construction project and they ultimately determine the amount of resources, such as money and time, to be allocated to geotechnical activities. By gaining risk management skills, in addition to in-depth geotechnical expertise, geotechnical professionals may become even better positioned to effectively communicate and implement their precious geotechnical expertise in any construction project.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify the salient risks borne by private firms and to investigate their effective risk response strategies in public-private partnership (PPP) low-cost housing (LCH) projects in Thailand.Design/methodology/approach– The paper employs grounded theory and case study methodologies to extensively analyze ten private firms’ risks and their strategic risk mitigation. As a result, the matrix of imperative risks’ root causes and the area of the project life cycle most exposed to their impacts were proposed. This included the framework of the risk response strategy application.Findings– The private firm's risk mitigation strategies depended on the salient risks’ impact and the private firms’ predictability and controllability of the risk outcome. This included the private firm's participating objectives and core business, decision maker's risk attitude, risk perception, experience of risk, and risk assessment skill, and the project life cycle phase of risk occurrence.Practical implications– Under the same characteristics of the immature PPP market in developing countries, the contractors’ effective risk management framework can be used as a guideline to complement the contractors’ decision making on risk response strategy selection and resource allocation in the PPP project life cycle.Originality/value– Despite working under the familiar environment of construction risk and generous payment method in PPP-LCH projects, only few contractors were successful. The examination of risks borne and effectively responded by the private sector increases the likelihood of the project success.

The scientific article reveals the problems of finding innovative approaches to solving problems related to the organization of an integrated management system in the construction industry. Promising trends of integrated management in the construction sector, which are focused on the flexibility and adaptability of management systems to modern conditions, are studied. The ability to respond quickly to changes in market conditions and customer requirements is becoming key to the success of construction projects. The urgency of the problem of finding rational solutions for the organization of the integrated management system in the construction industry is indicated. The paper highlights the problems of organization of the integrated management system in the construction hall. Construction projects often come with risks, such as changes in the project, unforeseen circumstances, and technical complications. Integrated management systems must meet the challenges of risk management and provide flexibility in solving problems. Grounded prospects and opportunities for using an integrated management system that allows construction enterprises to be flexible and adaptable to changes in the internal and external environment. This is especially important in the face of rapid technological changes and volatile market conditions. As a result of the analysis, opportunities for the introduction of innovative technologies and methods in the construction industry have been identified. The integration of advanced solutions allows us to improve construction processes at all stages. The results of our research revealed the basic principles of applying an integrated management model under risk conditions for quality control modules in construction, based on the concept of dynamic systems. Therefore, we consider it expedient to introduce an integrated model risk and quality management in construction, and this requires further scientific research. The proposed method allows to harmonize the processes of quality management and risk management, taking into account the criteria of project efficiency, contributing to the avoidance of conflicts between the requirements for the quality of the construction object and the level of acceptable risks. In addition, this approach aligns them with the efficiency requirements for the developer. It is determined that the principles of using the integrated model of quality management in the face of risks include the principle of complementarity and the principle of identity of the management process. This made it possible to identify management modules that correspond to the concept of construction quality management in the face of risks as a dynamic system.

Project processes are affected by risks in many ways, and this is particularly true in today's highly competitive world. Construction projects usually take much longer than typical projects in other sectors. In this sector, it is important to follow some kind of standardised risk management process. There is much literature on different approaches to project risk management, and this paper reviews the most prominent sources that suggest procedures that are widely used in practice. Nevertheless, standard risk management still faces some shortcomings, and professionals call for a more sophisticated solution. This research aims to expand the general risk management process based on the frameworks of the prestigious stand-ardisation institutions and associations (mainly on Project Management Institute's (PMI's) risk management standard considering the approaches of Institute of Risk Management (IRM), National Forum for Risk Management in the Public Sector (ALARM), Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as Association for Project Management (APM)). The suggested two new processes are justified by in-depth interviews conducted with interviewees working on large and complex construction projects, and are supported by a thorough literature review. The novelty of the research is that these two processes added to the standard processes, namely, risk analysis verification and validation and risk plan experimentation. The research expectedly improves the risk management process in the construction sector and emphasises the need to clearly articulate and communicate the organisation's risk appetite and the necessity for risk management training to employees. Therefore, the research reconfirms the concept of project risk management by the standards, and justifies the proposed new phases.

Housing has been a basic need for living since ages. In Ethiopia, the concerns of sustainability do not seem to be incorporated as a significant determining factor in the architectural design process. The country lacks knowledge and expertise of design and construction of sustainable housing projects and is not much in practice. There are multiple and contradictory set of issues that are affecting sustainable planning and design of housing projects which makes sustainability a minor concern for the upcoming housing projects in Ethiopia. Neither much attention has been paid and nor any initiative has been taken to adopt any alternative performance optimization techniques in design and construction to make sustainable buildings. Thereby, this paper examines gaps in the existing design and construction schemes to achieve the envisaged goals of sustainable environment, thereby contributing to overall socioeconomic development. To overcome the crisis that construction industry faces nowadays, two aspects that need attention are firstly finding measures to optimize sustainability performance in design and construction of housings and secondly devising methods to achieve sustainability and optimization by assimilation of various parameters from the beginning like architecture design, construction techniques and material selection to achieve better results. The current research paper examines a housing project in context to sustainable design approach to optimize performance in housings by assimilation of selected parameters within the frame work of sustainability, underlining the concept and benefits of sustainable buildings. The research aims to devise solutions that will contribute to the user well-being and protection of our environment.KeywordsOptimizationSustainable housingPerformanceIntegrationImplementation

Risk management is one of the entrepreneurial knowledge to reduce business risks. The aim of the article is to compare the access to risk management in SMEs in the Visegrad countries (V4). The attention is focused on the differences in a perception of the importance of various risks, the choice of the person responsible for risk management and the frequency of discussion on the current risks in the company. The article deals with the partial results of the empirical questionnaire survey which was completed in 2018 at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín in the Czech Republic. The survey was made among SMEs in the Czech Republic (408 respondents), Slovakia (487), Poland (489) and Hungary (388). The questionnaire included questions about the importance of risks and the concept of risk management in the company. Three research questions were set. To test the formulated research questions, the following statistical tools, such as pivot table, relative and absolute frequency, the Chi-Square calculator for 5 x 5 Contingency Table and Z-score, were used. Finally, the result indicates a different perception of the key risks in Hungary (in comparison with other V4 countries). There are also statistically significant differences in the frequency of discussion on the current risks in relation to the size of the company among V4 countries. The differences among the companies from V4 countries in the choice of the person responsible for risk management were proved as well. The article concludes with a discussion on the comparison of the previous international researches.

Public project nonperformance in many developing nations including Ethiopia from different dimensions is obvious these days. For these different economic constraints, different industry related complications and higher rate of population growth mentioned as a cause. Specifically the provision of affordable housing for all classes of the society is very difficult scenario that the government is facing right now. The integrated saving housing development project in different parts of Addis Ababa city faces many different challenges due to many reasons and among those reasons implementation and interpretation of the project delivery method has its own negative impact. Having this background the study sets a general objective to assess overall impacts of the contract delivery method adopted for those mass housing projects in Addis Ababa city. The general objective addressed through three specific objectives aimed at assessing the delivery method’s; overall practice, advantages and disadvantages, its overall effectiveness and to specify the best delivery approach in the study area. Accordingly available literatures related with the topic were reviewed under the second chapter. A descriptive and exploratory research design preferred to address the different research objectives and a mixed research instrumentation and analysis technique implemented. Using those techniques the different findings from the questionnaire, interview and document analysis discussed accordingly. The finding from the analysis showed that Design-Bid-Build approach implemented in all sites housing projects for the different blocks characterized to be very customary, very fragmented and traditional which alters the ideal advantages of the system into disadvantages. Also the finding revealed that the Design-Bid-Build approach causes nonperformance of the project and affected the time constraints followed by risk and cost management of the project. Proper implementation and characterization and/or adaptation of the system will fits best the different policies and strategies by Minister of Urban Development and Housing. Finally significance of the study includes administrative, professional, academic and strategic assistance for the different concerned bodies in the construction industry.

To expand knowledge of a search on a particular topic or to gather a significant sample of information that allows the researcher to identify and analyze the current state of knowledge on a topic, this paper presents a structured process for the selection of academic papers, evidence of papers’ relevance through bibliometric analysis, and analysis of the papers’ contents to identify gaps in the knowledge related to the theme under consideration and the objectives of the researcher. Starting from an interest in identifying and analyzing valuation models and risk management applied to the construction industry and using the Knowledge Development Process-Constructivist (ProKnow-C), this research identified 12,032 articles in thirteen academic databases. In its subsequent steps, the ProKnow-C allowed, in a process of continuous selection, the choice of the 23 articles that presented quantitative or qualitative risk management models developed for the construction industry. The relevance of this set of papers was demonstrated by bibliometric analysis. The content of the articles was systematically analyzed from ten research lenses based on the concepts of risk, risk management, and performance measurement adopted by the researchers, representing their research vision. The results of the systematic analysis demonstrated that risk management is a broad and complex subject, especially when its management aims to both avoid/minimize risk and guide the organization to a level where the risks can be transformed into competitive advantages. The analysis revealed the unique character of risk perception, indicating that models developed in one context are suitable only for that context. Thus, the use of ProKnow-C facilitated the acquisition of knowledge and enabled the researcher to identify numerous research opportunities, which, if included in the development of a new model, would allow this model to be used as an instrument that is legitimate and valid for the measurement, assessment, and management of risk, enabling the company to achieve competitive advantages in the market.

Introduction Due to the vastness of various construction practices globally, there is a need for knowledge mapping. Through the utilisation of research on Project Risk Management (PRM) for the Construction Industry, it is possible to carry out an investigation into the processes that pertain to knowledge management. To elaborate on the current research emphasis from three different points of view, namely the influence of political risk, risk assessment, and risk management strategies, the knowledge map analysis method has been elected as the appropriate approach. Knowledge mapping provides a systematic way to visualise research trends, identify gaps, and strengthen the understanding of PRM in international construction projects. Methods This scientific investigation, conducted in the field of risk management research, considers publications related to risk management. The study was conducted as a systematic literature review that adopted bibliometrics approach to explore the data from Dimensions database that have been reviewed using PRISMA 2020 statement. This study intends to present Knowledge Mapping for PRM in the Construction Industry, using data from 2000-2025. The analysis focused on three dominant research dimensions: political risk, risk assessment, and risk management strategies. It uses literature on studies that have been carried out on project risk and provides a comprehensive perspective on the topic. Results The knowledge maps revealed distinct clusters of research activity across the three focal areas. Political risk emerged as a consistent theme in studies addressing international and cross-border construction contexts. Research on risk assessment showed significant methodological diversity, while studies on risk management strategies tended to emphasise both technological tools and organisational processes. Overall, the mapping highlighted increasing scholarly attention to integrated and holistic approaches to PRM. Some under-researched areas, particularly knowledge-transfer processes and cross-national learning mechanisms, were also identified. The findings demonstrate that knowledge mapping is a valuable tool for understanding the evolution and priorities of PRM research in the construction industry. Discussion The study makes use of Knowledge Mapping to offer some suggestions for research areas concerning risk management in international construction projects. These knowledge maps are founded on the investigations that were conducted on project risk management. However, the development of Knowledge Maps offers good contribution to knowledge for best practices in the construction sector. By identifying patterns and gaps, the study provides guidance for future investigations and encourages the development of improved risk management practices in global construction projects. The resulting knowledge maps contribute meaningfully to the field by supporting better decision-making, improving risk-handling capabilities, and informing best practices for the construction sector.

To achieve a safe and reliable drinking water supply, water producers need to manage a large range of risks regarding both water quality and quantity. A risk management approach where risks are systematically identified and handled in a preventive manner is promoted by the World Health Organization and supported by researchers and drinking water experts worldwide. Risk assessment is an important part of such a management approach, and a variety of tools for risk assessment are described in the literature. There is, however, little knowledge of how drinking water risk assessment is performed in practice, including which tools that are actually used. This study investigates the use of risk assessment tools, and the approach to risk management, on a local level in the Swedish water sector. It is based on interviews with key persons from a targeted selection of water producers. We find that the application of tools as well as the approach to risk assessment and management differs considerably between the water producers. The tools most frequently used are mainly the ones promoted or required by Swedish national organizations. Although many of the water producers have done some kind of risk assessment, most have not implemented a risk management approach. Furthermore, their knowledge of the concepts of risk and risk management is often limited. The largest challenge identified is to prioritize risk assessment, so that it is actually performed and then used as a basis for managing risk in a systematic way.

Strategic use of quality function deployment (QFD) in the construction industry