Performance Based Studies Research Group

-Abstract-

Building an academic research program that can proactively lead and impact the construction industry in a developing country has proven to be difficult.  This paper uses Malaysia as a case study to test alternative methodologies.  The Malaysian universities have not been successful in bridging the gap between the industry and academic research.  The performance of the academic research units has not produced dominant measureable results for the Malaysian construction industry.  The result from existing efforts has been a gulf between the construction industry and academic research organizations in Malaysia in terms of credibility.

A couple of methodologies will be tested in Malaysia.  A major contractor developer Brunsfield has proposed to build research capability and be a primary research organization and then support a university of their choice to participate as an academic partner.  The University of Science Malaysia, the top rated research institute in Malyasia has proposed on building a research capability copying a successful model from the United States and partner with other research groups and the industry to build a research capability to attempt to bridge the current gap.  The planning for both efforts will be documented in this case study.

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-Abstract-

The quality and efficiency of design and design services is declining. The authors propose that the problem is a systems delivery problem and not a technical competence issue. The purpose of this paper is to use a recently developed best value delivery methodology originally created for contractors to deliver design services. The authors have tested the process resulting in increased performance.

Design/methodology/approach- A deductive approach is used. Well documented, published and logical industry structure and the best value delivery model concepts are discussed. The methodology is to identify the deductive logic, and confirm it with test results. The methodology is to take a well-proven delivery system that worked on construction, modify the existing design delivery model to match the construction model, and test the new model. Owing to the deductive nature of the methodology, the normal reliance on literature of existing practices and inductive exploratory research are not required.

Findings- Results confirm that design inefficiencies may be a systems problem. More research and testing is required to further substantiate the findings presented in this paper.

Originality/value - A system solution that creates a win-win result will have a tremendous potential in the designer industry.

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-Abstract-

To describe the implementation of the Performance Information Risk Management System (PIRMS) to indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) general contractors in the US Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) 26 sites, 150 projects/year, and $250m/year maintenance and repair construction program.

Design/methodology/approach – To test the hypothesis that facility owner management, control, and decision making is a source of risk, and that the transfer of risk and control to the contractors will minimize the risk.

Findings – Include minimizing construction management by 33 percent, motivated contractors to regulate their own contracts, minimized unresolved issues by 50 percent, minimized contractor generated change orders by 20 percent, and moving from doing quality control to quality assurance.

Research limitations/implications – The authors see no constraints in the implementation of PIRMS in other organizations. This paper reflects the perceptions of the Arizona State University research team, and publicly available test results, and not the views or policy of the USA Medical Command.

Originality/value – Includes the use of dominant performance/risk information from the contractor's weekly risk reports to create accurate performance and risk information on all ongoing projects, the IDIQ contractors, and on the client's/buyer's personnel. Risk information is being used to streamline a large organization's organizational structure, minimizing decision making and transactions, and transferring risk and control to the party who can minimize the technical risk.

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-Abstract-

The construction industry of Mexico is perceived to have problems with inefficiency, performance, and corruption. These perceptions, however, are not predicated upon data, but instead rely upon opinion and conjecture. Moreover, the attempts of the Mexican government and construction industry to mitigate the issues of inefficiency and poor performance have been met with limited success. This research provides two critical pieces of information for the Mexican construction industry: 1) A quantitative definition of the efficiency and corruption issues that seem to afflict the industry and 2) a consideration of performance improvement methodologies that have been successful in the United States, their applicability within a Mexican context, and the receptiveness of the Mexican construction industry to the new ideas and processes. An industry comparison of the U.S. and Mexico from a literature review and a quantitative survey is presented. This analysis clearly shows that Mexico and the U.S. share common inefficiencies, though in Mexico the inefficiencies are more extreme. Sharing common problems, the methodology captures a proven system of performance enhancement used in the U.S. called the Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS) that has corrected the American industry’s inefficiencies. The fundamental logic and theory of the PIPS process were then devised into a qualitative survey, which was distributed to Mexican construction participants. The results were compared to the American baseline and showed that in 76% of the concepts, Mexico showed a lower level of understanding. Mexico also showed a high receptivity to the PIPS concepts due to the severity of the existing inefficiency.

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The purpose of this paper is to document a construction product manufacturer’s ten year effort to become a best value manufacturer, and provide a best value product (best value at the lowest cost) with minimal risk for the client. A simple performance information system documents the performance of all their installed warranted products. The manufacturer developed a performance information system that motivated all individuals who delivered the final products to the clients, to perform and minimize risk they did not control. The research effort resulted in the Alpha Roofing Program, which is the only quality controlled and risk managed performance based roofing program in the industry. The manufacturer used the Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS) and the Performance Information Risk Management System (PIRMS) to minimize the risk of litigation and unforeseen risk for all participants including the client. Neogard is the only manufacturer of construction products to use performance information to minimize the risk of buyers of their products.

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