Foreign construction firms dominate the major projects in most developing countries as a result of deficiencies in indigenous construction capacity. A plethora of measures have been formulated and implemented to promote development of domestic contractors in these countries, but most attempts...

Housing in China has proved problematic for many years. Since economic reform started in the 1980s, urbanization has been a token of modernization, and consequently housing provision in urban areas has been a major social and economic issue. The major housing problem in China is the scarcity of...

Establishing a successful construction/demolition (C&D) waste recyling operation in the USA is a challenge today, especially because secondary materials markets have not yet matured. Increasingly, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill operations refuse to accept C&D waste. Skyrocketing tipping...

Based on empirical studies of the role of key individuals in the processes of ten successful innovations in the US construction industry, this paper makes three principal arguments. First, effective leadership is essential for technological innovation - in particular in construction. Second,...

Problems of competitive pricing and strategic management in the construction industry are discussed. A statistical analysis of tender spread patterns over the period 1970-91 shows that changing market conditions influence levels of risk exposure and in turn affect the establishment of a...

A methodology for assessing and evaluating contractor data for the purpose of prequalification and bid evaluation is presented. The PERT approach is used to develop a linear model for the assessment of contractor data. The model incorporates a multiple ratings permitting the uncertainty in...

The use of Monte Carlo simulation in construction cost analysis is of interest to construction professionals as part of the risk analysis of construction projects. In recent high profile publications the presentation of Monte Carlo simulation based cost analysis overplays the importance of the...

A Delphic study investigating the perceived relationship between 20 contractor selection criteria (CSC) currently in use and project success factors (PSFs) in terms of time, cost and quality is described involving a sample of eight experienced construction personnel, including two validators. A...

A survey was undertaken of the losses or costs incurred in building contracts because of accidents on building sites. Altogether, 576 accidents from 18 building sites were investigated. On each site, an accident occurrence index (AOI) was calculated by dividing the total equivalent day loss by...