Massey Research Online - Browsing by Author "Yiu TW"

Browsing by Author "Yiu TW"

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Application of equity sensitivity theory to problem-solving approaches in construction dispute negotiation
(1/01/2011) Yiu TW; Keung CW; Wong KL
This study applies equity sensitivity theory to investigate how the sensitivity of negotiators to perceived equity or inequity varies with their perception of the adoption of problem-solving approaches (PSAs) in negotiation in the construction industry. Drawing upon this theory, we identify three classes of negotiators: benevolents (known as "givers"), equity sensitives, and entitleds (known as "takers"). Our results suggest that most of the negotiators in our sample are entitleds. The study also provides statistical evidence that the perception of the adoption of PSAs appears to be associated with the degree of equity sensitivity of negotiators. For instance, benevolents demonstrate a significantly stronger preference for the adoption of PSAs and are thus able to obtain a higher level of negotiation satisfaction compared to the other types of negotiators. These findings are particularly relevant to the corporate managers of construction organizations, who may want to consider the inherent equity sensitivity traits of their negotiators before sending them to the negotiating table. © 2011 ASCE.
Barriers and strategies for building information modelling implementation: a comparative study between New Zealand and China
(1/01/2023) Ma L; Lovreglio R; Yi W; Yiu TW; Shan M
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a sharing platform that can present a parametric 3 D model with various project information in the form of a digital display. In recent years, BIM adoption has become increasing globally as the Architectural, Engineering, Construction (AEC) industry has recognised its benefits. Meanwhile, many challenges of BIM adoption in different countries have been well documented. To address the gap in literature, this study examines the differences and similarities of BIM adoption between New Zealand and China. A questionnaire was conducted across the two countries to investigate the barriers and strategies for the implementation of BIM. Data from 146 respondents was collected in New Zealand and China. The result shows that there is a difference in the perception of Knowledge Barrier, Technology Barrier, Internal Strategy and External Strategy (Legal/Technology viewpoint) between New Zealand professionals and Chinese professionals. The differences identified offer important implications for government agencies to promote BIM implementation and for BIM service providers to better target the end-users.
Behavioral transition: A framework for the construction conflict - Tension relationship
(1/08/2007) Yiu TW; Cheung SO
Conflicts are inevitable in construction projects. One of the reasons is that all construction projects involve complex human interactions. Previous studies have shown that behavioral states can respond dynamically as the magnitude of a conflict increases. This has been empirically demonstrated using a catastrophe-theory-based, three-variable system involving the level of construction conflict, the level of tension, and the amount of behavioral flexibility (Yiu and Cheung, 2006). This paper reports on a study that builds on the above-mentioned study by Yiu and Cheung, and examines the application of moderated multiple regression (MMR) to the three-variable system. It was found that not all MMR models display a significant moderating effect. Two out of six MMR models were found to be significant in their effect. These models affirm that the nature of the relationship between the degree of uncertainty and adversarial attitudes (or mistrust level) varies, depending on the behavioral flexibility of the parties. Disordinal interactions were also found, suggesting that the interaction between behavioral flexibility and the conflict-tension relationship can change radically. Critical points for the degree of uncertainty were also able to be calculated. Beyond these points, even a flexible individual may find difficulty in minimizing or resolving construction conflicts. As such, it is suggested that such radical changes could be prevented by minimizing the degree of uncertainty in construction projects. © 2007 IEEE.
Blockchain-aided information exchange records for design liability control and improved security
(1/06/2021) Erri Pradeep AS; Yiu TW; Zou Y; Amor R
With the recent advances in Information and Communication Technologies in the construction industry, information is exchanged digitally with little regard to the contracts that govern them. Although parties collaborating in project design are contracted to the client, they transact with each other when using BIM and other collaborative practices without any direct contractual relationship among themselves. This results in a lack of design liability control and an increase in claims and disputes. Further, the use of multiple software packages results in the exposure of data to third parties, data corruption and compromise in data privacy (using data for unintended purposes), data integrity (unauthorised access to sensitive data), and data longevity (loss of data post-handover). This study investigates blockchain technology (BCT) to address these issues using a design science research method. The current information exchange processes were mapped to identify the critical transactions that may benefit from record-keeping on the blockchain. Next, a prototype was designed to demonstrate and evaluate the proposed BCT integrated process models. Three key project processes, design review, design coordination and request for information; and two potential conflict scenarios during and post-construction were simulated as part of the evaluation. The prototype's implementation exhibits BCT's ability to record snapshots of individual design inputs to the overall project design and to enable a clear and long-term record of key exchange transactions. This improves the design liability control for contributing stakeholders and the auditability of the exchange records. Further, the proofs derived from such a system are independent of any third-party storage or subscription. Given the nature of records stored in a blockchain, the existence, integrity, and authenticity of information along with its associated metadata can be verified in the long-term as well. Therefore, BCT could be a supplementary technology that supports the existing information exchange systems.
Building Information Modeling Education for Quantity Surveyors in Hong Kong: Current States, Education Gaps, and Challenges
(1/01/2023) Keung CCW; Yiu TW; Feng Z
Rapid developments in building information modeling (BIM) are escalating the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry toward digital transformation. However, the lack of skilled BIM professionals is a critical issue slowing this transformation. Currently, few educational institutions include BIM topics in their curricula, especially those developed for quantity surveying (QS) programs. Moreover, the learning outcomes of BIM curricula may not meet the current industrial requirements. Thus, this study investigated the current states, gaps, and challenges of BIM education for QS practices in Hong Kong. This study conducted surveys to determine industrial requirements and a case study to examine the BIM curricula currently offered at Hong Kong educational institutions. The results suggest that the current BIM education for QS practices is in line with the pace of BIM development in the AEC industry. However, some advanced topics are not covered in BIM education. Additionally, the non-standardized BIM competencies to be attained by students lead to uncertainty and challenges in BIM education for quantity surveyors.
Building Information Modelling in quantity surveying practices: current state and future challenges in Hong Kong
(ITcon, 2022-12) Keung CCW; Yiu TW; Feng Z; Amor R
The use of building information modelling (BIM) in recent years has accelerated the performance and productivity of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. BIM can promote lean management, with enhanced control over budget and cost. However, the application of BIM for quantity surveying (QS) practices has not been extensively explored. Thus, this study examined the current situation and future challenges of BIM adoption in QS practices in Hong Kong. Questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews were administered to obtain insights from AEC industry practitioners in Hong Kong. Sixty survey respondents and nine interviewees participated in this study. The participants were quantity surveyors from developers, consultancy firms, and contractor companies. Results suggest that quantity surveyors are increasingly adopting BIM in Hong Kong. However, the low quality of BIM models and improper implementation of BIM often limit BIM adoption in QS practices. Another critical challenge is the absence of well-recognised BIM standards. Moreover, the shortage of skilled BIM professionals jeopardises the development and adoption of BIM in QS practices. The findings highlight the current achievements and barriers associated with BIM adoption in QS practices in Hong Kong. Prerequisites for successfully applying BIM in QS practices are suggested herein.
Catastrophic transitions of construction contracting behavior
(24/11/2008) Cheung SO; Yiu TW; Leung AYT; Chiu OK
The ways to manage a construction project very much depend on the attitude of the people involved. Collectively this is identified as construction contracting behavior (CCB). The CCB of the construction industry is adversarial as pinpointed in many industry-wide reviews. A more cooperative project delivery approach has therefore been advocated. In fact, drive for efficiency provides the incentive for cooperation. Nevertheless, members of a project team, in representing their respective organizations, are often in conflict. The dichotomous pair of cooperation and aggression forces therefore coexist. It is not uncommon to note that CCB turns aggressive as the construction activities of a project intensify. This change is often sudden and thus matches well with the phenomenon of hysteresis described by the catastrophe theory (CT). It is hypothesized that the dynamics of CCB can be modeled by CT. The three-variable CT models include CCB (as dependent variable), cooperation forces (as normal factor) and aggression forces (as splitting factor). With data collected from a survey fitted by the Cuspfit program, it was found that trust intensity is an effective normal factor. Contract incompleteness and competitive inertia are splitting factors that trigger aggression. © 2008 ASCE.
Contingent use of negotiators' tactics in construction dispute negotiation
(1/06/2009) Cheung SO; Chow PT; Yiu TW
In the course of negotiation, negotiators' tactics should be responsive to the situational factors. This is commonly described as the contingent use of negotiators' tactics. This study examines this concept in construction dispute negotiation and has three stages of work. Stage 1 develops taxonomies of the three construction dispute negotiation dimensions: dispute sources, negotiators' tactics, and negotiation outcomes by exploratory factor analysis. A structural equation modeling is also used to confirm the taxonomies. Stage 2 examines the contingent use of negotiators' tactics on outcomes respective to the dispute sources through the use of moderated multiple regression (MMR). Stage 3 discusses the findings. The dispute source, "Delay" is found to be a universal moderator in the MMR analysis of the tactic-outcome relationships. That means when the dispute source is delay, a wide range of negotiators' tactics can be used, respective to outcome intended. It is also found that the most versatile tactics are those that seek progress. This group of tactics is effective in almost every group of dispute source and, in general, positive results can be expected. However, aggressive and assertive tactics should be used restrictively, as they will only be useful against a compromising negotiation counterpart. © 2009 ASCE.
Exploring the influence of contract governance on construction dispute negotiation
(6/10/2008) Cheung SO; Wong WK; Yiu TW; Kwok TW
The obligations and rights of the contracting parties are typically set out in the conditions of contract. The attempt to have a "water-proof" contract that caters to all eventualities has turned contracts into management manuals with detailed contractual procedures to deal with, inter alia, performance, changes, payment, approval, and dispute resolution. Contract disputes, therefore, have to be negotiated within the ambits of the contracts. This study revisits the assumption of free negotiation that underpins most conventional negotiation studies, i.e., negotiation is free with rational negotiators who can walk away from the negotiating table at will. Constraints imposed by a contract are collectively described as contract governance. With taxonomies developed through principal component factor analyses for contract governance (CG) and negotiating behaviors (NH), the influence of CG and NH is explored by a Pearson correlation analysis. In general, it was found that dominating and obliging behaviors are mostly influenced by CG while compromising behavior is the least influenced. It was further found that procedural requirements influence all types of negotiators under the Rahim organizational conflict inventory except integrators. This suggests that if negotiators are having concern for both themselves as well as their counterparts, amicable settlement is possible notwithstanding the complex procedural requirements. © 2008 ASCE.
How do personality traits affect construction dispute negotiation? Study of Big Five Personality Model
(1/03/2011) Yiu TW; Lee HK
This paper provides some leads as to how personality traits affect negotiating behaviors and negotiation outcomes in a construction dispute negotiation. To achieve this, a questionnaire survey was conducted. The Big Five Personality Model was used to measure the personality traits of construction negotiators. Factors of negotiating behaviors and negotiation outcomes were developed. By interrelating these three elements, moderated multiple regression (MMR) was used to examine how personality traits affect the relationships between negotiating behaviors and negotiation outcomes. The results suggest that 16 MMR models are of significant moderating effects on these relationships. Among them, the top five MMR models with relatively strong moderating effects are identified. These models reveal that the personality traits of extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness can significantly moderate the relationships of negotiating behaviors and negotiation outcomes. In addition, their moderating effects are plotted to examine their natures. Effective zones of extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness are identified to show precisely how these personality traits can effectively facilitate positive negotiation outcomes. These results provide construction organizations with indicators to which type of personality traits can help improve negotiation outcomes and optimize the overall performance of construction dispute negotiations. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Logistic regression modeling of construction negotiation outcomes
(15/08/2008) Yiu TW; Cheung SO; Chow PT
Construction disputes are always negotiated before other resolution methods are considered. When it comes to negotiation, the tactics used by a negotiator is central in deriving desired outcomes. This paper reports a research that employs logistic regression (LR) to predict the probabilistic relationship between negotiator tactics and negotiation outcomes. To achieve this, three main stages of work were involved. Negotiator tactics and negotiation outcomes were first identified from literature. Then, four LR prediction models with negotiation outcomes as the dependent variable and negotiator tactics as the independent variables were constructed. Finally, these models were validated with an independent set of testing data. These models collectively suggested that: 1) increasing time pressure, taking threats, or subjecting the opponent to reality testing are inductive to "deterioration" negotiation outcomes; 2) providing various options and increasing flexibility would achieve "substantial improvement" in negotiation; 3) relationships between parties could be maintained by fair play; and 4) focusing on information exchange, giving middiscussion summaries, and offering counterproposal could clarify a party's position. Despite the skepticism over frank and open discussion of the issues and the existence of game plan, the findings of this research do support some well-established negotiation principles-focus on the issue and play down behavioral factors. © 2008 IEEE.
Moderating effect of equity sensitivity on behavior-outcome relationships in construction dispute negotiation
(1/05/2011) Yiu TW; Law YM
This study builds on Adam's equity theory by examining the moderating effects of equity sensitivity (i.e., a person's perception of what is equitable or inequitable) on behavior-outcome relationships among negotiators in construction dispute negotiation. First, an equity sensitivity construct is developed. This construct reveals that most construction negotiators are entitleds, also known as takers, at the negotiation table. Moderated multiple regression (MMR) is used to test the moderating effects of equity sensitivity. The MMR models affirm that the nature of behavior-outcome relationships varies, depending on the perception of equity. An entitled construction negotiator is found to be a versatile moderator who fosters satisfactory negotiation outcomes. The models show that negotiators are able to predict inequitable responses and to take measures to forestall or deal with different inequitable situations. This study indicates the merit of further study of equity theory in the context of construction dispute negotiation. Future challenges in this area include the examination of the equity restoration responses of negotiators to create an equitable environment. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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 aggressive-cooperative drivers of construction contracting
(1/10/2009) Cheung SO; Yiu TW; Chiu OK
Construction contracting parties can take either a cooperative or aggressive stance in pursuing their goals. This paper aims at identifying the stimuli (known as drivers) that motivate cooperative or aggressive moves in construction contracting behavior (CCB). In this regard, a three-stage research work has been designed for the completion of the research objective. Based on literature reviews, aggressive and cooperative drivers were identified in the first stage. A questionnaire was designed to collect construction case-specific data on these drivers. Next, taxonomies of aggressive and cooperative drivers were developed by the use of principal component factor analyses (PCFA). A total of three and seven taxonomies for aggressive and cooperative drivers were identified respectively. These taxonomies enable the understanding of aggressive-cooperative nature of CCB in a more amenable and logical manner. With these taxonomies, factor scales were calculated to represent the relative importance of the respective taxonomies. The degree of significance of each factor scales was then evaluated in the third stage. The results showed that the most important cooperative taxonomy is 'openness of contracting parties', while the most important aggressive taxonomy is 'goal oriented'. The findings also suggest that construction projects may not be inherently adversarial. Contract with equitable risk allocation and open discussion of problems would provide the platform for team building so that relationship among contracting parties can be maintained. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA.
Unintended Consequences of Productivity Improvement Strategies on Safety Behaviour of Construction Labourers; A Step toward the Integration of Safety and Productivity
(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-03-01) Ghodrati N; Yiu TW; Wilkinson S; Poshdar M; Talebi S; Elghaish F; Sepasgozar SME
Abstract The construction industry is facing constant pressure to improve its poor safety record and low productivity rate. A significant amount of research has been undertaken to identify the best practices to enhance productivity and safety. Nevertheless, the mainstream research in the field of construction focuses on one of these issues rather than implementing a holistic approach to resolve them. Consequently, the interactions between productivity and safety cannot be fully understood. Recent studies have demonstrated that management strategies and practices for improving labour productivity can trigger a series of unintended consequences that affect safety performance in construction projects. However, the behavioural aspects of these unintended consequences have yet to be investigated. This research addresses the gap by measuring the impacts of seven management strategies for improving labour productivity on the safety behaviour of construction labourers. A total of 191 construction labourers participated in a survey designed based on the Management Strategy Assessment Index (MSAI). The results show that the implemented management strategies for improving labour productivity have a greater impact on shaping safety compliance (SC) behaviours than safety participation (SP) behaviours of labourers. This study took a further step by breaking down the management strategies to their constitutive practices and measuring their impacts on SC and SP, and labour productivity. This paper provides further insight into the complex relationship between the productivity and safety behaviour of construction labourers. The findings can help project managers to improve labour productivity without harming their safety unintentionally.
Virtual reality for safety training: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
(Elsevier B.V., 2023-11-18) Scorgie D; Feng Z; Paes D; Parisi F; Yiu TW; Lovreglio R
Unsafe behaviour in the workplace and disaster events can lead to serious harm and damage. Safety training has been a widely studied topic over the past two decades. Its primary aim is to save lives and minimise damage but requires regular refreshers. New digital technologies are helping in the process of enhancing safety training for better knowledge acquisition and retention. Among them, Virtual Reality (VR) can provide an engaging and exciting training experience, and there is a need to evaluate its application and effectiveness in safety training. This study aims to investigate VR safety training solutions applied to various industries (excluding medical and military applications), such as construction, fire, aviation, and mining. This was achieved by systematically reviewing 52 articles published between 2013 and 2021 to answer nine research questions. Fourteen domains were examined, with construction and fire safety training being the most prevalent since 2018. Findings reveal that only a small percentage (9.6 %) of the studies explicitly adopted theories while developing and testing VR applications. Additionally, this review highlights a critical need for long-term retention measurements, as only 36 % of studies provided such data. Finally, the two meta-analyses proposed in this work demonstrate that VR safety training outperforms traditional training in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention.

Browsing by Author "Yiu TW"

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