Umi Kalsum Zolkafli, Norhanim Zakaria, Aina Mohammad Mazlan and Azlan Shah Ali
The purpose of this paper is to establish the impacts of good maintenance work for heritage buildings in Malaysia. This purpose is achieved through identifying factors that lead…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the impacts of good maintenance work for heritage buildings in Malaysia. This purpose is achieved through identifying factors that lead to the lack of maintenance of heritage buildings, establishing strategies to overcome the lack of maintenance of heritage buildings and analyzing the impact of good maintenance work on heritage buildings in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative method was employed for this study to identify the variables that most influence the maintenance of heritage buildings in Malaysia. The respondents were the owners of the heritage buildings in Peninsular Malaysia. There were 65 owners of heritage buildings identified from the official website of the Department of National Heritage, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia. Simple random sampling was used to obtain the sample size of the targeted respondent. A total of 56 questionnaire surveys were distributed to the owners of heritage buildings. In total, 37 respondents returned the completed questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 66 percent. The data were analyzed by Descriptive Statistics using Statistical Package for the Social Science software version 20.
Findings
Results show that the factors that lead to the lack of maintenance of heritage buildings are limited finance, the absence of maintenance guideline and ill-defined maintenance policy. The strategies to overcome the problem include providing a financial budget by the respective authorities, establishing a standard maintenance guideline and revising the existing policy.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is limited to the identification of factors that lead to a lack of maintenance and strategies to overcome the problem for the heritage buildings in Malaysia. The respondents are the owners of heritage buildings in Malaysia. The focus is given to them due to the fact that it will help them in understanding the importance of managing and operating for their buildings.
Practical implications
The results offer value-added information to building managers who are responsible for maintaining heritage buildings. Findings show that good maintenance work on heritage buildings can enhance the value and safety of the building as well as preventing heritage buildings from deteriorating.
Social implications
The quality of maintenance could be enhanced by focusing on the important variables that affect the quality of maintenance works of heritage buildings.
Originality/value
Limited studies had been carried out in the context of the maintenance of heritage buildings, especially in Malaysia.
Details
Keywords
Si Yee Tiew, Helena Aman Hashim and Umi Kalsum Zolkafli @ Zulkifly
Various studies have been conducted to explore the factors that are important to be considered for the effectiveness of construction contract administration (CCA) but lack in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Various studies have been conducted to explore the factors that are important to be considered for the effectiveness of construction contract administration (CCA) but lack in the context of graduate architects. The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing the effectiveness of graduate architects in CCA and possible methods to enhance their work efficiency through developing the relevant skills in a changing construction environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper identified the factors that influence the effectiveness of graduate architects in CCA through the quantitative methods. General skill elements that are perceived as essential for the effectiveness of CCA had been investigated through a survey of graduate architects in the construction industry. One hundred and twenty-seven completed questionnaires returned were analyzed and tested using descriptive analysis and relative important index (RII).
Findings
The result from the study showed that the factors influencing the effectiveness of graduate architects as CCA are building construction skills, design management skills, project management skills, soft skills and dispute resolution skills.
Originality/value
The contribution of this study can be utilized for developing models/tools in the future that would improve the work performance of graduate architects in CCA. Educators may utilize this study to improve their syllabus to cater to the market's demand and facilitate students' entry into the labor market.
Details
Keywords
Sharifah Nur Aina Syed Alwee, Umi Kalsum Zolkafli and Hafez Salleh
The era of digital construction, including building information modelling (BIM), has placed a high demand for a seamless collaboration of people, technology and processes in…
Abstract
Purpose
The era of digital construction, including building information modelling (BIM), has placed a high demand for a seamless collaboration of people, technology and processes in meeting a project delivery. The project actors involved in a BIM process must ensure compliance with all regulations and contractual requirements from inception. While many studies have disclosed the various contractual implications arising from BIM implementation, little has been examined on the current state of BIM in contract administration practice, particularly in the Malaysian construction industry. This study aims to explore the current state of BIM implementation with specific reference to a design-and-build construction project.
Design/methodology/approach
The exploratory case study involved the construction of a public complex. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the project actors, and document analysis was performed on the project’s contractual guidelines to derive the findings.
Findings
Findings from the thematic analysis revealed the following five sequences of activities that guided the contract administration practices, particularly during the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a BIM-based construction project: project inception, tendering phase, detailed design, construction and preparation for the handing over phase. Most of the activities were conducted to deliver the final BIM outputs successfully. Nevertheless, some shortcomings were noted in the project monitoring, the validation process of the BIM deliverables and the BIM players’ competency level in fulfilling the specified BIM contractual requirements.
Practical implications
The study contributes to a practical understanding of how BIM can affect project administration and how a public client can improve contractual risk allocation in future BIM implementation.
Originality/value
This paper discloses the current practices of contract administration to better understand the impacts of BIM management during the pre-contract and post-contract stages of a BIM-based construction project.
Details
Keywords
Umi Kalsum Zolkafli, Zahiriah Yahya, Norhanim Zakaria, Farid Wajdi Akashah and Azlan Shah Ali
– The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential buildings elements in term of the cost for timber restoration works.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential buildings elements in term of the cost for timber restoration works.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employed the case studies methods with questionnaires surveys. Two case studies were chosen and questionnaire surveys were distributed to contractors and consultation companies. The cost was identified based on the elemental cost analysis of historic timber buildings.
Findings
The restoration of historic timber buildings in Malaysia has grown rapidly, especially in the UNESCO world heritage sites, Melaka and Penang. Data obtained on the restorations of timber buildings show that the most influential elements were upper floors, roofs and walls. Termites’ invasions and the lack of building analysis were found to be the major issue in timber restoration works. In addition, the availability of timber material contributed significantly to the increase of cost for restoration works.
Originality/value
The cost for every element was identified and was used as a reference for new restorations projects of historical, timber buildings. This paper also highlighted the causes for the problems and the factors affecting the cost of timber restoration works. These data are useful information, especially for surveyors and contractors who are involved in the restoration of historic timber buildings. Maintaining or replacing these elements with other material can help to minimise the restoration cost of timber buildings in Malaysia.
Details
Keywords
Eyad Zouher Al-Sibaie, Ali Mohammed Alashwal, Hamzah Abdul-Rahman and Umi Kalsum Zolkafli
Conflict was recognized as a major cause of inefficiency and limited performance of construction projects. Factors pertaining to conflict in construction are vast; however, there…
Abstract
Purpose
Conflict was recognized as a major cause of inefficiency and limited performance of construction projects. Factors pertaining to conflict in construction are vast; however, there have been less recognition of these factors in international construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to provide in-depth understanding of conflict in this context and analyze how it influences project performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 161 professionals working in Malaysian companies, which are undertaking construction projects overseas.
Findings
Analyzing the data using factor analysis revealed six new factors of conflict: external, internal, control-related, knowledge-related, mismanagement, and social conflicts. Further analysis of the data using partial least squares-path modeling (PLS-PM) affirmed a significant relationship between project performance and two factors of conflict only: internal and social. The results also showed that conflict contributes to about 27 percent of the variance in project performance.
Originality/value
This paper provided a clear picture for project managers and team members about specific aspects of conflict and how to mitigate them to attain better performance of international construction projects.
Details
Keywords
Afrah Mohammed Hasan Kashkool and Saba Sami Al Ali
Heritage buildings, as any other buildings are subject to decay and deterioration. This issue increases significantly when a country undergoes complicated circumstances of unrest…
Abstract
Purpose
Heritage buildings, as any other buildings are subject to decay and deterioration. This issue increases significantly when a country undergoes complicated circumstances of unrest, as is the case in Iraq. The purpose of this study is to rethink the maintenance approach to heritage buildings in Iraq from a systematic management standpoint. It proposes the development of a management system through the functions of proper planning, organizing, directing and controlling. The study aims to scrutinize the weak areas of performance in the investigated work process in Iraq and provide suggestions to address them.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper opted for an exploratory study, using interviews with responsible people in Iraqi heritage buildings administration to investigate the procedures applied on maintenance work for the heritage buildings. Besides, maintenance reports were reviewed and three case studies of buildings recently assigned for maintenance were visited and examined to identify the current course of actions at work and to uncover the points of weakness and strength.
Findings
The researchers identified a kind of unreal planning in the maintenance process, which appeared to be a manifestation of corrective maintenance (CM) rather than a preventive one. Such an aspect was highlighted due to several causes, among which most important were as follow (1) the lack of sufficient allocated budgets and (2) the shortage of hand labor and building technicians in this field, including professionals with an architectural training background, who could make practical choices to heritage maintenance thus preventing improper solutions that would harm the authenticity of the asset. Such factors could be mitigated if a good maintenance management system is to be adopted. A proposed system is hereby suggested, upgrading the current guideline and laws by the specialized authorities in addition to recommending the application of digital documentation.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to study how maintenance management system can be applied for heritage buildings