Editorial

Citation

McCaffer, R. (2009), "Editorial", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 16 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ecam.2009.28616faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Volume 16, Issue 6

This issue of ECAM Vol. 16 No. 6, tackles some interesting topics. The management of multicultural project themes is a very current and challenging issue. The measurement of worker engagement in Health and Safety is a practical solution that could have some significant impact. The macro economic analysis of the European Construction Industry presents an interesting framework against which to begin to make policy judgements and the paper on commercial reviews in the tender process ought to influence advice to clients. Other issues are final budget forecasting and barriers to partnering. What is greatly encouraging is the wide range of research methods including interviews for the multicultural project team investigation, modelling for the final budget forecasting, regression analysis for the macro economic analysis, case studies for the paper on commercial reviews in tendering, workshops, interviews and questionnaires for the barriers to partnering and site data collection for the worker engagement in Health and Safety.

There was a time when I was concerned that our research methodologies were becoming too narrow but that does not apply to this edition. Also the proportion of papers that could lead to practical implementation is high, the health and safety paper, the management of multicultural project teams paper and the advice to clients regarding amendments to contracts in the commercial review in tendering are probably leading in this respect followed by final budget forecasting.

It has taken 14 authors to produce these six papers, eight are from the UK, three from Sweden, two from Spain, and one from Thailand.

There is one single authored paper, two papers with two authors and three papers with three authors. One of the three author papers has two countries and two institutions represented.

The papers in this issue are as follows.

Ochieng and Price present us with a framework for managing multicultural project teams. One effect of globalisation is that the international projects, in particular, are serviced by multicultural teams of designers, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers. The work force is recruited both locally and internationally. So the companies with an international capability now have to manage their project with teams comprising team members, companies and a work force from culturally diverse backgrounds. This cultural diversity brings with it different understandings and expectations, different team dynamics and different approaches to team integration. The challenge is how to equip a project manager with the skills to effectively influence and manage a multicultural team. Whilst acknowledging the benefits of a culturally diverse team the research untaken by the authors examined the causes of conflict, misunderstanding and poor project performance.

The authors concentrated on heavy engineering construction projects and selected eight organisations from Kenya and the UK. Data were collected by interviewing project managers from these organisations. From this the authors identified the key dimensions of leadership style, team selection and the composition process, cross-cultural communication, cross cultural collectivism, cross cultural trust, cross-cultural management and cross cultural uncertainty.

The paper addresses important issues in our globalised industry. The development and application of the knowledge gained from this work will not be easy. Much, much easier to develop a new planning tool and apply it than to change the management style of major projects. But it is a challenge worth responding too and these authors have given a lead. I am sure other researchers will emerge and a research community will grow around this topic.

Rujirayanyong addresses the issue of forecasting the final budget and duration of highway construction projects. The author has built a forecasting model using an artificial neural network mapping the input variables to the output variables. Data from the progress reports of 51 highways projects in Thailand were collected and used to construct this model. This data produced in this paper demonstrated that the “model” is more accurate at predicting final cost and duration than existing methods. This may be a criticism of existing methods.

This paper offers a clear example of modelling using neural networks. Whether it becomes the preferred approach of the highway authorities in Thailand will be seen in the fullness of time. The author will no doubt work towards that goal.

Laryea and Hughes explore commercial reviews in the tender process of contractors using four case studies as their data source. The issue they examine are amendments to standard forms of contract. The data they collected describes the extent of amendments to standard forms of contract. The evidence is that the amendments were significant and focussed mainly on the financial and contractual aspects. The interesting observation is that the contractors’ did not modify their bid price to reflect any increased risk from amendments but instead relied on qualifying their bid. The paper advances the understanding of amendments and the likely response from contractors. It sets up an expectation of a guidebook cataloguing the frequently used amendments and the bidders’ likely response. This would be very useful in informing clients on the consequences of amendments and might well expose some of the flawed advice offered by professional advisors.

Pellicer, Pellicer and Eaton are attempting to give clearer description of the European Construction sector by macroeconomic measures based on production functions. From these descriptions the authors will add to the description of European Construction highlighting the differences between countries. The researchers accessed data for 1996-2005 from nine European Countries and used regression analysis to construct their models. The authors offer comments on the diverse preponderance of small and medium enterprises and the different contributions of the informal economy, migration and sub-contracting.

The development of these economic descriptions will prove valuable to the policy makers and the planning of the skills required in the various countries of Europe.

Eriksson, Atkin and Nilsson extend research previously reported by suggesting ways in which construction clients can overcome barriers to partnering. The research is empirical and the data sources were interviews, document analysis, surveys and workshops. The authors review the need for purposeful procurement procedures within an overall project management context. The need for different procurement procedures for different projects is emphasised.

Meldrum, Hare and Cameron advance with considerable conviction the notion that worker engagement in Health and Safety reduces risks of accidents. To turn this philosophy into a management tool the researchers have produced a means of measuring worker engagement. This tool known as WISH, Worker Involvement in Health and Safety, was used to measure worker engagement in a construction project and the exercise repeated 13 months later. The contractor for the project was running a site wide engagement programme and so WISH was measuring its effectiveness. The authors believe they have a tool to manage the effectiveness of worker engagement in health and safety.

Having provided a means of measuring worker engagement the use of the tool needs widely promoted so that the extent of worker engagement can be measured and the degree of worker engagement correlated with accident data. This could be a significant contribution to health and safety.

Ronald McCaffer