Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

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.

Time is considered extremely urgent in China’s Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction. However, little research has been undertaken on estimating the time needed for reconstruction in China, especially for this specific reconstruction. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the time-cost relationship for the Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction. Both the Bromilow’s time-cost (BTC) model and the Elman network (EN) model have been developed to predict the time of Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction projects. Data have been obtained from 72 completed construction projects in the six cities that were seriously affected by the major Wenchuan earthquake. The result from the BTC model has been compared with that from the EN model to determine which one is more accurate. The results show that the EN model provides a more accurate time prediction for Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction than the BTC model does, though the BTC model is more suitable for application in practice. It is also shown that the proposed models are both useful for estimating the duration of reconstruction projects.

As a result of elevated labor costs, a shortage of trades personnel, and a lack of efficient construction methods, many construction companies in western Canada waste primary materials. In general, these firms suffer from a lack of effective construction guidelines and process standardizations. This paper focuses on the use of a mathematical algorithm, referred to here in this paper as CUTEX, which maximizes the use of wood materials for platform-framing residential construction. In particular, CUTEX is designed to reduce waste by generating a cutting list for wood studs and sheathing (oriented strand boards—OSB). A combinatorial analysis algorithm has been developed and applied to determine the best cutting procedure for wood stick frame houses. Restrictions, such as nominal lumber dimensions and sizes encountered in the North American market, were taken into account. A two-dimensional optimization for sheathing layout has also been developed to minimize the disposal of OSB boards, making the construction process leaner and more economical. A direct and positive impact on the environment and a reduction in construction costs are expected as a result of reducing the amount of primary materials utilized.

This paper presents a Web-based system for supporting the selection of the most suitable routes for buried urban utilities. The aim of the proposed system is to support (not make) decisions through a collaborative semiautomated environment, in which stakeholders can share information and/or study the impacts of different routing alternatives with respect to decision constraints. First, the knowledge relating to route selection for urban utilities is represented through an ontology. The ontology defines the types and attributes of infrastructure products and the surrounding areas. It also defines the impacts of routing options on surrounding areas through a set of decision criteria adopted to evaluate the effectiveness of any route in terms of its potential impacts. A set of constraints are also defined to help represent/study the decision criteria. Second, a GIS-based system has been created to help visualize route data, interact with users, and support the needed discussions among stakeholders. The portal also achieves data interoperability through wrapping existing geospatial data with ontology structures. Finally, a set of reasoners have been created to help quantify/augment some of the constraints. The system is capable of (1) extracting the attributes of each routing option, (2) testing the interaction/conflicts between route attributes and the constraints of the surrounding area, (3) studying the impacts of a route as stipulated in the ontology, (4) referring users to existing best practices to help enhance routes or address conflicts and, when needed, (5) develop objective measures for comparing different routes. On the microlevel (street level), route options are evaluated through a “constraint-satisfaction” approach. On the macrolevel (city level), route options are evaluated through a fuzzy inference scoring system. The proposed system focuses on facility life cycle, sustainability, and community impacts. Construction costing, scheduling, labor, and equipment along with other management issues can either be added to the system or, better, analyzed through integrating the system with four-dimensional (4D) modeling tools.

The next logical evolution of discrete-event simulation (DES) technology for construction is for simulations and animations to run concurrently and in a manner that allows interaction with the animation to affect the course of events in the simulation. This effectively enables the creation of virtual environments with logic based on DES models, something that recent research efforts have made possible. This paper introduces this technology with the help of a case study. In particular, the paper presents how interactivity can improve the process of model validation in simulation studies, which is a critical step in achieving model credibility. Via a complex earthmoving operation, a construction engineer can use real-time interactivity to create situations of interest and study the model’s response to those, and thus validate that the response is appropriate. These capabilities can significantly enhance the process of model validation, thereby adding to the value of DES for practical use in operations planning and design.

Flexibility has been touted as an important requirement for firms to survive and prosper in turbulent and volatile economic environments. The aim of this research is to investigate the relevance of organizational flexibility management to construction firms, because firms that are more flexible are more likely to survive and prosper than less flexible firms. More specifically, the objectives are to define a model that will allow contractors to understand the complex factors that contribute to organizational flexibility; ascertain whether organizational flexibility should be treated as a uni- or multidimensional construct; and identify the key determinants that drive organizational flexibility. A two-pronged research method with exploratory interviews and an industrywide survey was adopted. Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with construction industry experts. The data collection instrument for the survey was a structured questionnaire specifically designed for this study. By using structural equation modeling, the study empirically investigated the key dimensions and determinants of organizational flexibility. The results showed that organizational flexibility should be treated as a multidimensional concept, comprising operational flexibility, tactical flexibility, and strategic flexibility. The key determinants—employees’ skills and behavior, supply chain capabilities, and business strategies—were found to have the highest positive impacts on operational flexibility, tactical flexibility, and strategic flexibility, respectively. The structural equation model developed from this research provides guidance to practitioners on the organizational attributes that they could improve to achieve organizational flexibility, which would help them to survive and grow.

This paper proposes a framework for simulating weather-sensitive construction projects that are executed under extreme weather conditions. It applies the framework steps to enable simulating and planning pipeline construction activities under severe cold weather conditions. The uncertainties caused by weather, such as extreme cold, heat, wind, or precipitation, can significantly affect a project’s schedule and produce significant deviations from the baseline schedule. The proposed framework structures a project in the way an engineer would approach it, setting out a breakdown of work activities to quantify weather effects and account for their impact on the project baseline. The proposed weather-sensitive construction simulation framework is employed to determine the effects of weather on the construction process of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe installation. The relevant simulation findings are reported to clarify the impact of extreme weather events on construction projects and to assist in project planning and decision support.