This paper seeks to assess whether the implementation of formal quality schemes in the construction industry delivers higher productivity when measured at site level. The work reports an experiment in which the resources used by construction contractors to build housing association houses varied...

Very few construction companies and consulting firms in Australia measure their costs of quality. Consequently, it is difficult for them to prove that systems for preventing quality failures are cost-effective. Although the direct costs of a quality system can be quantified with some accuracy...

Surveys of the top 400 US contractors were conducted in 1979, 1983 and 1993 to identify the areas with potential for productivity improvement in the construction industry. The trends in the findings of these surveys are observed and interpreted. The results indicate that cost control,...

China is actively investigating ways to introduce project financing, specifically through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme to meet the needs for the country's infrastructure and to be attractive to foreign investors and lenders. The advent of concession agreements, backed by new BOT laws,...

Using two sets of input-output tables, this paper analyses the role of the construction sector in the North and South regions of Italy, from 1959 to 1992. As expected, the sector has had differing impacts on the two regional economies over the years. In the highly developed North its importance...

The use of incentives in partnering and alliancing has been seen as an important way of reinforcing collaboration in the short term and helping to build trust between clients and contractors in the long term. Yet only rarely has the impact of incentives on such relationships been discussed, let...

Earthworks and earthmoving operations are a major part of many civil engineering construction projects. Because of their labour and plant intensity, the planning and estimating of such operations is crucial to both the cost and duration of the project; earthworks are considered by many...

Serendipitous findings are reported from an on-going research project that seeks to determine the effectiveness of quality assurance systems certified under the ISO 9000 series in Australian contracting organizations. In Australia, certification has become mandatory for all organizations wishing...

Although extensive research has been undertaken on factors influencing the decision to tender and mark-up and tender price determination for construction projects, very little of this research contains information appropriate to the factors involved in costing construction projects. The object...

The business environment of the Korean housing industry has changed recently from a supplier's market to a buyer's. Establishing and implementing proper marketing strategies has increasingly become an important part of the managerial process. This research attempts to offer a characteristics...