Massey Research Online - Browsing by Author "Wilkinson S"

Browsing by Author "Wilkinson S"

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A Conceptual Framework for Implementing Lean Construction in Infrastructure Recovery Projects
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-03-01) Rad MH; Mojtahedi M; Ostwald MJ; Wilkinson S
Natural hazards can have substantial destructive impacts on the built environment. Providing effective services in disaster areas is heavily reliant on maintaining or replacing infrastructure; thus, post-disaster reconstruction of infrastructure has attracted growing attention. Due to the complex and dynamic nature of infrastructure recovery projects, contractor companies engaged in this work have typically experienced poor performance. Furthermore, from a commercial perspective, the post-disaster reconstruction environment is characterized by fierce competition and market uncertainty, challenging the organizational resilience of companies undertaking this work. One approach for improving contractor performance is the implementation of lean construction, but the literature lacks consensus on its capability to affect organizational resilience. To respond to this problem, a conceptual framework applicable for lean implementation in infrastructure, which explicitly addresses organizational resilience, is required for recovery projects. In parallel, contributing components to effective implementation of lean-recovery and supportive theories for justifying the conceptual framework must be identified. Consequently, this paper proposes a conceptual framework to implement lean practices for the enhancement of organizational resilience. The framework is developed using a systematic research method, wherein 110 research documents were discovered initially, and following processing, 18 relevant documents were identified and analyzed. Through this process, contingency and Transformation-Flow-Value (TFV) theories were identified as an appropriate foundation for a framework to implement lean construction in infrastructure recovery projects.
Achieving design-stage elemental cost planning accuracy: Case study of New Zealand
(2017) Adafin J; Rotimi JOB; Wilkinson S; Windapo AO
An evaluation of risk factors impacting project budget performance in New Zealand
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 3/03/2021) Adafin J; Rotimi JOB; Wilkinson S
Purpose There has been a lack of research, particularly within the New Zealand (NZ) context, focusing on the identification and assessment of risk factors for construction projects, leading to a wide variation between design-phase elemental cost plans (ECPs) and the outturn tender sums (OTS). Still to be investigated is how risks interact to produce such variability. This study aims to determine the risk-influencing factors, identified through risk measurement, during design development. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted literature review and online questionnaire survey. The literature review was used to identify the factors affecting project budgetary performance, which was used to design the questionnaire survey culminating in data analysis. The questionnaire was administered to 64 practising project managers (PMs) in NZ. Their responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, mean ranking analysis, degree-of-risk measure and correlational analysis, to find the top-five risk factors impacting the variability observed, through ranking the mean and degree of risk values that produce such variability. Findings Significant risk factors were identified from the questionnaire survey analysis, such as changes in project owner/stakeholder requirements, experience of project team, site condition information, competency of consultants and information flow and quality. These provided some insights in explaining the variability between the design-phase ECPs and OTS based on risk impacts from PMs’ viewpoints. Research limitations/implications Findings revealed a drift of 23.86% in budgeted costs (inflated risks), which seems significant. Prioritising top risk factors may provide handy information for researchers on the variables that could be relied upon for the development of a forecasting model for application in NZ. Practical implications The study findings have implications for PMs seeking to provide information on mitigation strategies by using risk management approach, considering the influence of development risks on building project delivery and, consequently the project owner’s financial position. To guard against wide variation between design-phase ECPs and OTS, the main contribution of this study is to raise consultants’ awareness of the important risk factors for their planning at the outset, thus assisting PMs in pro-actively managing their clients' budgets. Originality/value This study creates value by synthesising literature on construction project budgeting and highlighting areas for further research. By giving adequate attention to key risks associated with budget overruns in commercial projects, variability between ECPs and OTS, a common phenomenon in NZ, can be controlled to achieve cost savings. Based on this, further study suggests the development of a model that could assist the stakeholders in NZ to more reliably predict OTS from the design-phase ECP and pro-actively avoid unfortunate budget/cost overruns, disputes and even project abandonment.
Collaborative procurement on the rise
(2006) Wilkinson S; Shestakova Y
Comparative Analysis of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort Standards in School Buildings across New Zealand with Other OECD Countries
(MDPI AG, 2024-05-15) Arya V; Rasheed E; Samarasinghe D; Wilkinson S
Comprehensive Indicator Bank for Resilience of Water Supply Systems
(Hindawi Publishers, 2021) Baghersad M; Wilkinson S; Khatibi H
Appropriate indicators are required to measure the resilience of water supply systems (WSSs). However, it is challenging to identify appropriate indicators since there is no comprehensive database of indicators to measure its resiliency. This study will establish a comprehensive bank of indicators to assist water corporations and decision-makers in selecting appropriate indicators for their particular system. The suggested indicator bank is comprised of three layers such as dimension, attributes, and the number of indicators resulting from 12 different indicator codes that the study has analysed. In addition, this paper presents instructions on how the indicator bank can be used and integrated with water enterprises, enabling decision-makers to pick the relevant indicators. The proposed indicator bank is an exploratory approach that should be validated in a real work setting since resilience is a challenging concept, and WSSs are complex due to their dependencies to other lifelines such as power networks with too many variables that may affect the actual outcomes.
Cyclone resistant housing in Fiji: The forgotten features of traditional housing
(Elsevier Ltd, 2022-11-01) Elkharboutly M; Wilkinson S
Fiji housing stock suffers extensive damage during the annual cyclone season, leading to high costs in repairing and reconstructing the damaged properties. Historically Fijian houses were resilient, and the communities could self-recover from natural hazards. The country's more recent disasters have been beyond the country's ability to self-recover. Reasons for this include reliance on international aid, new housing types and materials, population changes and the loss of traditional building methods. Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016 led to over 30,000 damaged houses, and many villages were totally destroyed. Navala was one of the damaged villages in the inner west, where most of its houses were constructed mainly as traditional houses. In this village, fifty percent of houses survived the cyclone. This study investigates Navala traditional houses, their constructability, and the apparent ability of its houses to resist cyclone hazards. The study's main findings show that traditional knowledge of building traditional houses still exists. Also, traditional houses, especially those with central posts, performed well during the cyclone and complied with the internationally recommended cyclone-resistant structural features. The study analysed the construction of traditional houses and highlighted the unique cyclone-resistant features that could be recommended for regional implementation in future constructed houses.
Decision making in reducing carbon emissions for building refurbishment: Case studies of university buildings in New Zealand
(Elsevier B.V., 2023-07-05) Bui PTP; Wilkinson S; MacGregor C; Domingo N
The refurbishment of existing buildings offers the greatest opportunity to maximise carbon reduction within the built environment. Although the conceptual framework of the refurbishment process incorporating various methods, tools, and systems to support decision making in reducing whole-of-life carbon emissions exists in the literature, empirical research reporting on how and why the decisions are made in current industry practice is lacking. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by investigating the decision-making process of building refurbishment considering whole-of-life carbon reduction using three real-life case studies that incorporate decarbonisation decisions. The important findings emerged from an interactive analysis between theoretical propositions and cross-case synthesis. The study sheds a new insight into (1) the effective adoption of building rating systems, (2) the required whole-of-life carbon reduction targets, (3) the importance of establishing a dedicated financial budget for carbon-reduction refurbishment solutions, (4) the need for adaptable refurbishment designs and long-term strategies, (5) holistic design reports, (6) the promotion of early contractor involvement (ECI) approach, (7) government funding and incentives, and (8) the availability of supply chains and data. The originality of the paper is providing a new understanding of the decision-making practices and challenges faced in the refurbishment process, in which lessons learnt for improving the implementation of building refurbishment towards zero carbon are recommended. The research expands theoretical knowledge and practical experience in whole-of-life carbon analysis and performance estimation for building refurbishment. The insights gained from this study offer practitioners and researchers a streamlined interdisciplinary guide to better deliver refurbishment projects towards zero carbon.
Digital technologies and data-driven delay management process for construction projects
(Frontiers Media S.A, 2022-12-21) Radman K; Jelodar MB; Lovreglio R; Ghazizadeh E; Wilkinson S
One of the main challenges of construction projects is managing delays; there is still a lot to overcome to reach near-zero delays (mitigation of delays) in all construction projects. Technology and different platforms are applied to support a high volume of data flow acquired from multiple resources during the construction project life cycle; how can these automated and digital progress tracking systems be considered for more effective construction delay management? The aim is to investigate the current state of real-time technologies and their applications and assess how specific attributes of these disruptive technologies can significantly alter delay management in construction industries. Therefore, this study presents a new process-based framework for using technologies with a data lifecycle viewpoint. This research uses a four-step systematic literature review involving identification, screening, extortion-eligibility check, and selection-inclusion. Furthermore, it is followed up by a thematic content analysis on using new technologies to mitigate delays in construction projects. Key trends, themes, areas of concern for research, and limitations identified in previous literature as research gaps and future needs were documented and structured. This work presents a novel process of comprehensive classification of real-time technologies that are being used in the construction industry to acquire data, screen/analyses data, and present information through an Industry 4.0 application: IoT technologies such as sensors, RFID etc., smartphones, planning/scheduling tools (Ms Project, Primavera), and Building Information Modelling (BIM). The developed process-based framework is served as a roadmap to 1) centralise real-time communication between technologies to collect, analysis and presentation data in construction phase, 2) prepare timely reports for project managers to take proper action against those problems delaying project.
Environmental factors in tsunami evacuation simulation: topography, traffic jam, human behaviour
(Springer Nature, 2024-06-07) Fathianpour A; Evans B; Babaeian Jelodar M; Wilkinson S
The risk a tsunami, a high-rise wave, poses to coastal cities has been highlighted in recent years. Emergency management agencies have become more prepared, and new policies and strategies are in place to strengthen the city's resiliency to such events. Evacuation is a highly effective response to tsunamis, and recent models and simulations have provided valuable insights into mass evacuation scenarios. However, the accuracy of these simulations can be improved by accounting for additional environmental factors that affect the impact of a tsunami event. To this end, this study has been conducted to enhance an evacuation simulation model by considering topography that impacts traffic mobility and speed, traffic congestion, and human behaviour. The updated model was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of Napier City's current evacuation plan, as it can realistically simulate both pedestrian and vehicular traffic movements simultaneously. The simulation demonstrated in this paper was based on a scenario involving an 8.4 Mw earthquake from the Hikurangi subduction interface, which would trigger a tsunami risk in the area. Based on this event, the final evacuation time (time between after the shake is felt and the arrival of the tsunami wave at the shoreline of Napier City) is considered to be 50 min. The results of the MSEM model are presented within two categories, (1) survival rate and (2) safe zone capacity. The evacuation simulation model used to examine the environmental factors in this study is the Micro-Simulation Evacuation Model (MSEM), an agent-based model capable of considering both pedestrian and vehicular interactions. The results showed that the steep pathway to the safe zone would markedly decrease the moving speed and reduce the survival rate, highlighting the need to have supporting vertical evacuation to reduce the number of evacuees heading to steep routes. Additionally, the modelling and assessment of mass evacuation by vehicles has highlighted regions of severe congestion due to insufficient network capacity. Through highlighting such regions, the model aid policy makers with a more targeted approach to infrastructure investment to improve flows of traffic in mass evacuation scenarios and increase survival rates.
Investigating the relationship between reworks and contractual claims: The salience of contract conditions
(American Society of Civil Engineers, 1/02/2022) Asadi R; Rotimi JOB; Wilkinson S
Statistics show a high rate of contractual claims in construction projects, impacting the construction industry's progress negatively. Rework is one of the main underlying factors that generate contractual claims. Rework and contractual claims follow a mutual routine. Despite a large number of studies on the causes and impacts of rework on project performance, there has been limited research examining the relationship between claims and rework on the basis of contract documents. The paper first attempts to expose the sources of rework through a systematic literature review and then assesses rework causes that fail to be addressed in construction contract documents. The review results identified 37 root causes as the most common rework contributors to construction projects classified into five groups. The list of rework causes served as a starting point for searching the contractual issues through a questionnaire survey. Accordingly, a relative importance index was used for analysis of the primary data collected from the survey. The result first prioritized the importance level of rework causes in generating contractual claims, preceding rework causes that are not addressed adequately through standard form of contract conditions in construction projects. Findings of the investigations revealed that the general conditions of contract do not address the causes of rework adequately. Therefore, contract documents need improvement to cover contractual claims incidences due to rework. Lack of addressing rework causes in the general conditions of contract triggers recommendations for revising the contract clauses that ultimately lead to improved claim handling and dispute avoidances.
Learning from Floods—How a Community Develops Future Resilience
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-10-01) Auliagisni W; Wilkinson S; Elkharboutly M
Settlements close to rivers, the sea, and hills are among those most vulnerable to floods. The hilly terrain region experiences higher rainfall than the lowlands due to the orographic effect. As a result, excessive rains feeding major rivers cause a rapid rise in water level resulting in frequent breaks of the riverbanks. The flood hence covers the inhabited lowlands with water and silt, causing loss of lives and properties. The affected communities need practical coping alternatives to deal with the intensity and the increasing exposure to floods. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6) identify the sustainable management of water and sanitation as one of their key objectives. This study identifies resilience in practice focusing on how communities create resilience and develop sustainable river catchment management. A qualitative method was used, involving observations, interviews, and community surveys with one of the most flood-prone populations, the New Zealand Northland community. A desktop study containing government publications and flood records compliments the thematic analysis result and strengthens the discussions. Social connections, participation in self-protection training, and maintaining the catchment were among the main findings of the study. This study recommends for community-led response plans integrated with infrastructure improvements and collaboration with councils to reduce the risk of future floods.
Mixed-Method Approach to Evaluate Rework Provisions within New Zealand Construction Contracts
(2023-12-21) Asadi R; Wilkinson S; Rotimi JOB
Rework in construction contracts is an interesting topic as it influences contractual claims and disputes. Changes in design, scope, and construction turn into rework and then affect project completion time, performance, and contract sum. Addressing the rework provision in a well-defined contract before the work commences will safeguard the project against unforeseen circumstances Contractual rework provisions are difficult to trace as they are often written indirectly or in a complex context. Therefore, a list of rework causes from the literature is used in this study to investigate rework clauses and identify the relevant provisions in the general contract conditions. Rework provisions in the New Zealand standard contract are reviewed first and the identified contract clauses are then evaluated based on the result of the questionnaire survey and professional interviews. The mixed method, both quantitative and qualitative approach, is utilized for data collection and analysis. This research revealed that only five significant causes of rework, involved in the categories of process, materials and equipment, are adequately addressed in the contract conditions, so the remaining causes of rework require further investigation. The result also identified five contract clauses related to rework provisions. The study suggests the contract parties review the rework provisions ahead of time during the negotiation of the contract. This approach enables the parties to manage their obligations under rework events by addressing other causes of rework. Properly addressing the causes of rework in the contract provisions reduces contractual claims, disputes, and improves the overall project performance.
Navigating Climate Change Challenges through Smart Resilient Cities: A Comprehensive Assessment Framework
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-03) Khatibi H; Wilkinson S; Sweya LN; Baghersad M; Dianat H; Giorgi E; Garau C; Venco EM
The rapid increase in the global population is contributing to the urgent challenges we face in ensuring the sustainability of our planet. This demographic shift, which gained momentum in the 1990s, is closely linked to a surge in natural disasters, both in terms of their frequency and severity. The quest for resources and improved quality of life, including the need for housing and essential services, has compounded these challenges. With the world’s population projected to double by 2050, and approximately two-thirds of this population expected to reside in urban areas, we are facing a complex web of interconnected issues that will significantly magnify the impacts of climate change-induced disasters. It is imperative that we build resilient cities capable of withstanding and adapting to these changes. However, the growing complexity of urban services and the necessity for integrated management raise questions about the preparedness of these resilient cities to comprehend and address the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change. In response to these critical concerns, this study endeavors to address the intersection of resilience and climate change. We propose the development of a Smart Resilient City Assessment Framework, comprising two core components: resilience re-evaluation and smartness evaluation. Each component consists of eight essential steps. The culmination of these steps results in a semi-quantitative index that accurately reflects the city’s position regarding resilience and smartness in the face of climate change-related disasters. To demonstrate the framework’s practicality and suitability, we present results from a hypothetical scenario focusing on water supply management, a critical aspect of climate change adaptation. The framework equips city managers with the necessary tools to re-evaluate their cities’ resilience, evaluate their capacity to address climate change-induced challenges, and make informed decisions on integrating resilience and smart solutions to pave the way for a more sustainable and climate-resilient future.
Reducing the vulnerability of tourists to tsunami: challenges for decision-makers
(Springer Nature, 2023-06-17) Fathianpour A; Wilkinson S; Jelodar MB; Evans B
A near source or local tsunami, because of its close proximity to an affected area, cannot usually be predicted soon enough to mitigate many of the risks posed. The limited notice time in local tsunamis poses greater challenges for decision-makers than distant source tsunamis. Tsunamis affect coastal regions, where many of these areas are visited by tourists who often lack adequate knowledge of the hazards of the region. This study focuses on the risks tourists face during a local tsunami and discusses how to best protect tourists. Initially, a thematic literature analysis was performed to identify research gaps. Then, a case study methodology was adopted to obtain an in-depth understanding of how emergency management officials consider the management of tourists in evacuation planning. Napier, New Zealand, was used as a case study because it is a tourist town and vulnerable to tsunamis. Key decision-makers in the disaster management and tourist management sector were interviewed. The results outline three major initiatives that could lead to better tourist management and create better tsunami awareness for tourists. First, the risks posed to tourists can be reduced if emergency management officials collaborate with tourism agencies. Second, developing accurate evacuation simulations can show what would happen to tourists in a tsunami so that emergency management officials can be better prepared, and councils can improve evacuation planning and infrastructure to evacuate tourists and local communities safely. Third, educating tourists about evacuation plans will increase their readiness and enhance their safety.
Rework causes classification model with liable parties of the contract in construction projects
(Frontiers Media, 2023) Asadi R; Rotimi JOB; Wilkinson S
Rework is an interesting topic in the contract management of construction projects. An effective way of improving performance on construction projects is to manage rework. However, managing rework is challenging because of the dynamic nature of construction activities. A rational starting point is the identification of the root causes of rework then a framework for its management can be developed for improving construction performance. This paper reviews rework-related studies in the construction industry through a critical review of literature to investigate the main causes of rework in the construction contracts. A content analysis of the previously proposed classification methods for rework revealed that all rework causes could be grouped under various project stages. The causes of rework also could be ascribed to different project parties. However, previous studies have suggested various categories of rework, there is no commonly used classification model for rework causes in construction contracts. The current study proposes a model in three levels to address this gap. The developed model categorised rework causes in five constructs linked to three main stages of the project under two liable contract parties. The study findings show that the procurement stage has fewer categories of rework causes than design and construction. The result also reveals that the involvement level of contract parties in rework occurrence can be investigated in contract documents. Thus, this paper suggests further research in procurement stage to address rework causes in the contract conditions.
Smartdevice use in a COVID-19 world: Exploring work–family conflict and turnover intentions
(John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), 2023-10-19) Wilkinson S; Haar J
Technology has made life more complex, and mobile working (mWork) captures the way employees’ smart-device use (e.g. smartphones, laptops etc.) can facilitate working during family time at home and what the effects of this use are. Engaging in mWork is expected to be detrimental to employee outcomes. In this study, mWork is explored as it relates to turnover intentions and work–family and family–work conflict, with conflict expected to mediate the influence on turnover. Furthermore, given the potential dynamics from gender and parental status, these are both included as moderators, and ultimately a moderated mediation model is tested. Using data from 419 New Zealand employees just after New Zealand's lockdown finished in May 2020, there is overall strong support found for the direct and mediation hypotheses. Overall, mWork influences turnover intentions by blurring the line between work and personal life (leading to higher work–family and family–work conflict), and these also influence turnover intentions.
Systematic representation of relationship quality in conflict and dispute: For construction projects
(2015) Jelodar MB; Yiu TW; Wilkinson S
The construction industry needs to move towards more relational procurement procedures to reduce extensive losses of value and avoid conflicts and disputes. Despite this, the actual conceptualization and assessment of relationships during conflict and dispute incidents seem to be neglected. Via a review of literature, relationship quality is suggested as a systematic framework for construction projects. General system theory is applied and a framework consistent of four layers respectively labelled as triggering, antecedent, moderation and outcome is suggested. Two different case studies are undertaken to represent the systematic framework; which verifies that changes in contracting circumstances and built environment culture can affect the identified layers. Through system reliability theories a fault tree is derived to represent a systematic framework of relationship quality. The combinations of components, causes, and events for two case studies are mapped out through fault tree. By analysing the fault tree the combination of events that lead to relationship deterioration may be identified. Consequently the progression of simple events into failure is formulized and probabilities allocated. Accordingly the importance and the contribution of these events to failure become accessible. The ability to have such indications about relationship quality may help increase performance as well as sustainable procurement.
The common causes of rework in construction contracts: a diagnostic approach
(Emerald, 2021) Asadi R; Wilkinson S; Rotimi JOB
Purpose: The high rate of rework that occurs in construction projects has a negative effect on the performance of the construction projects. Although several mechanisms have been implemented to control reworking, a comprehensive list of rework causes is yet to be provided to present the common causes that contribute to rework in construction contracts. This paper aims to investigate the most common rework causes that need to be addressed in construction contracts. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method using both the qualitative and quantitative approach is used in this paper. First of all, the study adopted a four-step literature review to introduce the rework research trends and provide statistical reports using descriptive analysis. Next, a comprehensive review has been completed using content analysis to identify the common causes of rework in construction projects. Finally, the common causes in construction contracts are further investigated through a quantitative questionnaire survey to validate the initial results. Findings: The results of the review showed an increasing trend of publications on rework over the last three decades. Most of the studies were conducted in Australia, the UK, Nigeria and Hong Kong. Based on further investigation in the study area of sources of rework, 37 causes of rework causes were identified and classified in five groups. Then, the most significant causes of rework in construction contracts were compiled in the list of 22 items. Research limitations/implications: The paper’s reported result, contributes to the contract management body of knowledge by proposing a list of common rework causes that can be used by practitioners during the contract negotiation to prevent contractual issues. The result of the review can also be used for further investigation of the relationship between rework and contract conditions. Originality/value: The proposed list of common causes of rework in construction contracts allows project parties to improve the terms of the contract in addressing rework, this could result in fewer contractual claims and disputes. The findings of this study will also guide the investigations into the contract conditions, thus the approach used is constructive.
Tool development to measure the resilience of water supply systems in Tanzania: Economic dimension.
(AOSIS Publishing, 2021) Sweya LN; Wilkinson S
The world has experienced devastating disasters causing severe human life and economic losses, which is estimated to be 68.5% of the global economic losses between 2005 and 2017. Natural disasters are of great concern - they caused total damage of approximately $3.5 trillion during the past century - which is more than the global infrastructure development investment in 2014. Floods - exacerbated by climate change - are expected to cause more damages, and water supply infrastructures will continue to suffer if resilience is not improved. Measuring the economic changes affecting resilience would assist in developing risk reduction initiatives to minimise disaster losses. Such a measure is lacking for Tanzania water supply systems (WSSs). The current article applied three-stage processes - literature review, pre-assessment and Delphi technique - to develop a resilience tool to measure economic resilience for urban WSSs in Tanzania. Thematic and standard descriptive analyses were carried out during the study. Dynamism principle and three indicators - system investment proportionality, public-private partnership and cost recovery - emerged as principal components for the tool. The tool is expected to be useful during water authorities' planning processes and budgeting in order to improve the overall WSSs resilience.

Browsing by Author "Wilkinson S"

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