Cost significant models have been suggested as one way of overcoming criticisms of the amount of detail contained within the traditional bill of quantities. Recent research into these models reveals a lack of formal rules for the selection of work packages to be used within the models, and a...

A multivariate discriminant analysis is described, aimed at predicting the direction of changes in the Hong Kong tender price index by utilizing the patterns of change in eight leading economic indicators. Two discriminant functions are derived which distinguish between 'upward', 'constant' and...

A survey of employees' perceptions of a large contracting firm's waste management system was conducted. Results were factor analysed and an eight-factor model of the waste management climate was identified. Perceptions were found to differ between employee groupings. Managerial staff had a less...

The authors have over recent years performed extensive empirical research into European (UK, French and German) construction contractor performance. This paper represents the culmination of that research, by presenting a model for achieving optimum project time performance based on European best...

The construction industry is plagued by risk and often has suffered poor performance as a result. There are a number of risk management techniques available to help alleviate this, but usually these are based on operational research techniques developed in the 1960s, and for the most part have...

There is a growing urge for a shift from 'lowest-price wins' to 'multi-criteria selection' practices in the contractor selection process. The rationale is to achieve best value (for money) for the client. Earlier investigations have found that the tender price (i.e. capital cost) still dominates...

Construction is a major industry throughout the world accounting for a sizeable proportion of most countries gross domestic product (GDP). According to a recent survey, total world construction spending in 1998 was over $3 trillion. Furthermore the importance of the construction sector is...

The ready mixed concrete (RMC) industry is an important sector of the construction industry in many places. Its level of development in terms of size and performance may be taken as an index representative of the development level of a particular construction industry taken as a whole. Therefore...

One of the most important decisions that has to be made by construction companies/contractors is whether or not to bid for a new project when an invitation has been received. It would be of great help if a structured model could be developed that deals systematically with different bidding...

In academic research, the traditional Box-Jenkins approach is widely acknowledged as a benchmark technique for univariate methods because of its structured modelling basis and acceptable forecasting performance. This study examines the versatility of this approach by applying it to analyse and...