This paper presents a review of the literature on performance management and measurement in various industries with the aim of transferring best practice into construction. A framework is presented which ensures that effective strategies are deployed to form the performance management system that construction organizations can adopt. The performance measurement process (conceptual) framework (PMPF) adopts the balanced scorecard (BSC) with the addition of a number of elements and perspectives. It rationalizes the relationships between performance measures and goals derived from strategy, so the impact of those measures on an organization's performance can be examined and analysed to indicate potential areas for improvement

The complexity of construction projects and what is described in the manufacturing industry as the 'fuzzy front end'. The participants in the process are the fragmentation of the construction industry undertakdescribed in terms of the activities that need to be ing those projects has effectively resulted in linear, uncoundertaken in order to achieve a successful project and ordinated and highly variable project processes in the UK construction sector. Research undertaken at the Univer-process execution. In addition, the decision-making mechanisms, from a client perspective, are illustrated sity of Salford resulted in the development of an improved project process, the Process Protocol, which and the foundations for a learning organization/industry are facilitated within a consistent Process Protocol. considers the whole lifecycle of a construction project whilst integrating its participants under a common frame-Keywords activity zones, design and construction, project process, process map, Process Protocol, stage work. The Process Protocol identifies the various phases gate of a construction project with particular emphasis on

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Risk management (RM) comprises of risk identification, risk analysis, response planning, monitoring and action planning tasks that are carried out throughout the life cycle of a project in order to ensure that project objectives are met. Although the methodological aspects of RM are well-defined, the philosophical background is rather vague. In this paper, a learning-based approach is proposed. In order to implement this approach in practice, a tool has been developed to facilitate construction of a lessons learned database that contains risk-related information and risk assessment throughout the life cycle of a project. The tool is tested on a real construction project. The case study findings demonstrate that it can be used for storing as well as updating risk-related information and finally, carrying out a post-project appraisal. The major weaknesses of the tool are identified as, subjectivity of the risk rating process and unwillingness of people to enter information about reasons of failure.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that categorises the features and characteristics of the built environment that impact on health outcomes.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive literature review was carried out. A total of 1,163 abstracts were assessed, leading to 92 papers being reviewed.FindingsThere is a considerable amount of evidence linking healthcare environments to patients' health outcomes, despite the lack of clarity in relation to cause‐effect relationships.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a theoretical framework linking different built environment characteristics to health outcomes. This framework provides a structure to group causal effects according to their relation with design features, materials and ambient properties, art and aesthetic aspects and use of the built environment.

The construction sector is under growing pressure to increase productivity and improve quality, most notably in reports by Latham (1994, Constructing the Team, HMSO, London) and Egan (1998, Rethinking Construction, HMSO, London). A major problem for construction companies is the lack of project predictability. One method of increasing predictability and delivering increased customer value is through the systematic management of construction processes. However, the industry has no methodological mechanism to assess process capability and prioritise process improvements. Standardized Process Improvement for Construction Enterprises (SPICE) is a research project that is attempting to develop a stepwise process improvement framework for the construction industry, utilizing experience from the software industry, and in particular the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which has resulted in significant productivity improvements in the software industry. This paper introduces SPICE concepts and presents the results from two case studies conducted on design and build projects. These studies have provided further insight into the relevance and accuracy of the framework, as well as its value for the construction sector.

Construction companies are increasingly being challenged to transfer and use new technology. However, little investigation has been undertaken on technology transfer from the perspective of the small construction company. A contribution to this underdeveloped area is based on results from an interview survey of seven small UK construction companies. The results stress that the technology which small construction companies tend to transfer more successfully is that which can contribute to the business in a quick, tangible fashion, and which can fit into existing organizational capabilities. Any technology that is too far removed from this 'comfort zone' is seen to require too much investment and to contain too much risk, and thus tends to be intuitively and swiftly sifted out. This is in marked contrast to the relevant literature that depicts large companies operating in more complex networks, drawing upon them for new tacit and explicit technologies that support more long-term, formal technology strategies, and which often complement some form of specialized internal research and development capability. The implication for policy is that any technology transfer initiatives need to appreciate and actively manage the different motivations and capabilities of small and large construction companies to absorb and use new technology.Les entreprises de construction sont de plus en plus appelées à résoudre des questions de transfert et d'utilisation de technologies nouvelles. En revanche, on s'est peu intéressé au point de vue des petites entreprises de ce secteur sur les transferts de technologies. Cette contribution à ce secteur peu développé repose sur les résultats d'une enquête menée en Grande Bretagne auprès de sept petites entreprises de construction. Il en ressort que les technologies que les petites entreprises ont tendance à transférer le mieux sont celles qui peuvent contribuer au développement rapide et tangible des affaires et qui peuvent s'intégrer dans une structure organisationnelle existante. Toute technologie qui s'écarte de trop de cette 'zone de confort' est considérée comme nécessitant un investissement trop lourd et présenter trop de risques et a donc tendance à être intuitivement et rapidement mise à l'écart. Cette constatation est en complète opposition avec la littérature qui décrit de grandes entreprises opérant dans le cadre de réseaux plus complexes, attirant vers elles de nouvelles technologies tacites et explicites, compatibles avec des stratégies technologiques officielles à plus long terme et qui, souvent, complètent des formes de recherche interne spécialisée et de capacité de développement. L'implication politique est que toute initiative de transfert de technologie nécessite d'évaluer et de gérer activement les différentes motivations et capacités des petites et grandes entreprises de construction dans leur aptitude à absorber et utiliser de nouvelles technologies.