SYED M. AHMED, RIAZ AHMAD and D. DARSHI DE SARAM
This paper reports a study carried out to compare the attitudes and perceptions of Hong Kong construction contractors and owners on the importance of various construction risks…
Abstract
This paper reports a study carried out to compare the attitudes and perceptions of Hong Kong construction contractors and owners on the importance of various construction risks and also how the risks should be allocated between the parties to the contract. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey on industry professionals representing contractors and owners. Both the owners and the contractors have attached high importance to risk factors such as safety, quality and financial failures. Results also indicate a readiness on the part of the contractors to allocate a greater portion of risks to themselves.
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David J. Edwards and Gary D. Holt
The extensive use of mini‐excavators in construction presents a significant health and safety risk from their tendency to become unstable, or in the extreme to roll‐over, under…
Abstract
Purpose
The extensive use of mini‐excavators in construction presents a significant health and safety risk from their tendency to become unstable, or in the extreme to roll‐over, under certain working conditions. No standard exists to specifically assess excavator stability, so the purpose of this paper is to document the development and trial of a series of practical field tests designed to achieve this.
Design/methodology/approach
Tests were designed in collaboration with a group of plant experts and competent operators. The tests were subsequently trialled by applying them to four mini‐excavators, the aim being to see if these plant items could be reliably assessed in terms of their stability characteristics. Results of the study were presented to H&S experts for comment.
Findings
The tests were able to assess mini‐excavator stability. For each machine, five “stability criteria” were scored thereby producing an overall score, by which mini‐excavator stability could be conveniently represented.
Research implications
No previous field test research has been identified in this area. The results produced here may go some way towards developing an international standard for on‐site stability tests.
Practical implications
The tests are easy to apply at the work site so long as performed by competent persons under appropriately risk‐assessed and risk controlled conditions; and if disseminated to industry, could act as a means of standardising mini‐excavator stability tests until such time an International Standard becomes available.
Originality/value
Research in this area is entirely novel.
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This paper aims to investigate the potential benefits and limitations associated with aligning accreditation and academic program reviews in post-secondary institutions, using a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the potential benefits and limitations associated with aligning accreditation and academic program reviews in post-secondary institutions, using a descriptive case study approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes two Canadian graduate programs that are subject to both external professional accreditation and institutional cyclical reviews, as they underwent an aligned review. The process was developed as a collaborative effort between the academic units, the professional associations and the university’s graduate-level quality assurance office. For each program, a single self-study was developed, a single review panel was constituted, and a single site visit was conducted. The merits and challenges posed by the alignment process are discussed.
Findings
Initial feedback from the academic units suggests that the alignment of accreditation and program reviews is perceived as reducing the burden on programs with regard to the time and effort invested by faculty, staff and other stakeholders, as well as in terms of financial expenses. Based on this feedback, along with input from reviewers and program evaluation committee members, 14 recommendations emerged for ways in which an aligned review process can be set up for success.
Practical implications
The results suggest that aligned reviews are not only resource-efficient but also allow reviewers to provide more holistic feedback that faculty may be more willing to engage with for program enhancement.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge about conducting aligned reviews in response to external accreditation requirements or institutional needs. It summarizes the potential benefits and limitations and offers recommendations for potential best practices for carrying out aligned reviews for policymakers and practitioners.
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Yat‐Hung Chiang, Chun‐Kei Joinkey So and Chi‐Wai Stanley Yeung
This paper aims to identify the imbedded option value in price of auctioned land in Hong Kong, and to propose a more accurate valuation method in predicting land price.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the imbedded option value in price of auctioned land in Hong Kong, and to propose a more accurate valuation method in predicting land price.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on records of land auctions and property transactions during two periods of very different market conditions, land prices are estimated using the traditional hedonic pricing method as well as the option model modified from Quigg. The results are compared to deduce whether there is any imbedded option value, thus concluding whether the option model facilitates a more accurate valuation of land prices.
Findings
This study concludes that land auction prices have embedded option value in waiting to develop land. Option premiums increase with implied volatilities, which go up during market downturns, suggesting that developers place higher value on the option to develop during recessions.
Research limitations/implications
The accuracy of the analysis may have been compromised by the limited number of land auctions conducted and the difficulties in inferring the value of multi‐ownership residential buildings from sample transactions of their constituent individual units. Future research will benefit from a larger sample of transactions.
Practical implications
This paper illustrates that real option models provide the property industry with a valuation tool that addresses the concern arising from the irreversibility of investment decisions.
Originality/value
The study finds out the option premiums of vacant land in Hong Kong, lending empirical support to the application of option‐based models for more accurate land valuation under different market conditions.
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Chukwuemeka Patrick Ogbu and Chinedu Chimdi Adindu
Globally, road projects are notorious for riskiness, which often results in cost overruns. In developing countries, these risks are amplified by economic instabilities and…
Abstract
Purpose
Globally, road projects are notorious for riskiness, which often results in cost overruns. In developing countries, these risks are amplified by economic instabilities and institutional failures. Majority of road projects in these countries are awarded to notedly inept indigenous contractors. Currently, research on the relationship between risks and cost performance of road projects has predominantly focussed on the client’s perspective. Effects of risks on contractors’ cost performance (profit) are inadequately investigated in literature. The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between direct risks and cost performance of road projects by indigenous contractors of developing countries from the contractors’ perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The multivariate structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse purposively obtained data from indigenous contractors that recently completed road projects in Nigeria.
Findings
It was observed that a significant positive relationship exists between the aggregate project risk, i.e. project risk index of cost (PRIC) and cost performance of the projects. Significant positive relationships were also found to exist between identified cost risk centres and PRIC and between risk factors and cost risk centres. The risk centre site environment and location contributes the most to PRIC.
Research limitations/implications
Indigenous contractors of developing countries are to analyse the identified risk factors and centres prior to bidding for road projects and carefully manage them during project execution.
Originality/value
Future studies of risks in road project should aim to obtain project risk indices of costs for the projects.
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Xiaoying Li, Heng Li, Martin Skitmore and Fan Wang
Neglecting to wear a safety helmet can result in serious injuries at construction sites, but the cause of such unsafe behavior has not been fully understood. Therefore, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Neglecting to wear a safety helmet can result in serious injuries at construction sites, but the cause of such unsafe behavior has not been fully understood. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a means of systematically understanding on the causes of non-helmet use behaviors at construction sites.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper utilizes the system dynamics (SD) modeling to portray the construction system works at project, management and individual levels to understand the relative importance of safety climate and productivity pressures. A real-time helmet use behavior tracking system (the Eye on Project (EOP)) is developed to provide an objective record of helmet use practices. Using the data collected from the EOP, the proposed SD model can be calibrated to simulate the influence of safety climate and productivity pressures on the non-helmet use behaviors of construction workers.
Findings
The data collected from 91 responses through the questionnaire survey were utilized to develop the SD model, which consists of two balancing loops and two reinforced loops. The mean absolute percentage error is further used to evaluate the model. The results show that a positive safety climate significantly reduced the rate of non-helmet use behavior.
Originality/value
This study divided the primary contributors of non-helmet use behavior into three levels for the SD model development. The SD model can be used to develop policies for mitigating helmet misuse, which in turn improves the safety performance of construction sites.