Automating the task of tracking the delivery and receipt of fabricated pipe spools in industrial projects

Piping in industrial projects is a critical and costly process as thousands of unique pipe spools go through design, fabrication, interim processing, delivery, storage, installation and inspection. Current methods for tracking pipe spools through this long supply chain are subject to many problems. This paper evaluates the use of RFID technology as a possible solution to some of these problems through automation of the current tracking process. The technical feasibility of RFID applications is analyzed based on field tests. A model of current tracking process is presented to identify potential economic benefits from using RFID technology in automated tracking.     

An industrial organization economic supply chain approach for the construction industry: a review

Understanding industries in terms of the concepts of chains, clusters and networks is becoming increasingly important in economies around the world. Supply chain management for an individual organization is an emerging field of research in the construction management discipline, but less attention has been devoted to investigating the nature of the construction supply chains and their industrial organizational economic environment. This selected review of construction and mainstream management supply chain literature is organized around four themes; distribution, production, strategic procurement management and industrial organization economics, and highlights the need to develop an industrial organization economic supply chain framework for construction. The merging of the supply chain concept with the industrial organization model as a methodology for understanding firm conduct and industry structure and performance is an important contribution to both construction supply chain and construction economic theory. Much of the industrial organization supply chain literature has tended to focus upon manufacturing industries, where typically firms are permanent organizations. This raises issues as to the differences between industries founded upon temporary compared with permanent organizations. There is potential for the development of an industrial organization methodology applicable to the project based industry. Ultimately industrial organization research seeks to have direct implications for industry performance and government policies.     

A service-oriented integrated information framework for RFID/WSN-based intelligent construction supply chain management

As buildings are now taller, larger, and more complex, it has become increasingly more difficult to secure stockyards for materials and to resolve the surrounding traffic problems, creating an increased need for Just-In-Time (JIT) delivery. To support JIT delivery, it is necessary to build a framework that can facilitate the collection and share of information on construction components and material flow throughout the whole supply chain process. Many researchers have suggested that radio frequency identification (RFID) and wireless sensor network technologies could improve the effectiveness and efficiency of JIT management. In addition, service-oriented architecture (SOA), the services of which enable the interfacing of a heterogeneous system environment of parties involved in the supply chain management process, is suggested in the manufacturing industry as one of the solutions for effective collection and sharing of information in supply chain management. However, the construction industry has limits in applying the framework suggested in the manufacturing industry since the supply chain process in the construction industry is extremely dynamic due to frequent changes in the design and plans of construction projects. Therefore, the objective of this research is to develop a seamlessly integrated information management framework that can provide logistics information to project stakeholders for their decision making. The pilot test of the framework developed in this research showed that it can improve time efficiency by about 32% compared to the traditional supply chain management. The result of this research is expected to be utilized effectively as a basic framework to manage information in RFID/WSN based construction supply chain management (CSCM) environments.     

RFID Enabled Knowledge‐Based Precast Construction Supply Chain

Radio frequency identification (RFID) helps improve supply chain efficiency by providing item‐level identification and real‐time information. Today, barcode continues to be the main identification technology for precast construction applications. In this research, we investigate the data‐driven mechanisms and benefits of utilizing RFID in knowledge‐based precast construction supply chains. With computer‐aided self‐learning capability, we simulate three models for manual‐, barcode‐, and RFID‐enabled precast construction supply chain. The results of 100 precast wall‐panel construction in a two‐echelon precast construction supply chain reveal that the knowledge‐based RFID system could generate 62.0% saving of operational costs, which is 29.0% higher than that of a barcode‐based system. As a result, the computer‐aided adaptive learning mechanism based on RFID is verifiable to improve the overall operational performance by reducing lead time, operational errors, and costs. Due to the lack of existing literature of data technology utilization in the precast construction industry, our findings in this research could improve the decision making regarding technology selection, as well as help with the operationalization of RFID and transformation to intelligent precast construction management in big data environment.     

The non-adoption of supply chain management

Largely taken for granted within the UK construction sector has been a view that supply chain management theory is robust, relevant and reliable. As such it has formed a substantial aspect of previous and contemporary policy and government funded research. Despite this, the general view of its development and diffusion over the last 15 years within the construction industry has been problematic. Coincidentally, prevailing debates within the supply chain management academic community point to the lack of unified theory, models of diffusion and strong connections to organization theory. Using Straussian grounded theory, iterations between data and organization theory provided a fresh perspective on the development and diffusion of supply chain management in construction. This inductive research provided contextually rich explanations for development and diffusion that explicitly connected with and drew upon robust, relevant and reliable theories of institutions, innovation diffusion, triads, quasifirms and mechanisms of organizational governance. These explanations challenge the simplistic assumption that chains and networks of organizations are holistically managed and controlled by any single organization or institution in the construction industry. The debate therefore shifts away from proselytizing supply chain management towards research that explores the rigour, relevance and reliability of supply chain management assumptions in construction. The gap between industry practice and policy is exposed and the question is posed: to what extent policy and practice do, or should, constitute a recursive relationship.     

Scenarios for applying RFID technology in construction project management

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been widely applied in various areas such as retail, electronic transaction, logistic and supply chain management, scientific research, security, etc. It has brought about great benefits in these areas through improving real-time information visibility and traceability. However, a widespread application of RFID in the construction industry has not taken place. One possible reason is that construction practitioners may have not been fully informed of its potentials. This paper aims to investigate various scenarios that can illustrate the uses of RFID technology in construction project management. The research starts from a brief summary of recent developments of RFID technology in different industrial sectors including construction. 16 researchers were split into 3 groups to investigate how RFID can be used in the management of materials, men, and machinery (M³) for construction projects. Perspectives for future studies are proposed in order to fully realise the potentials. The research encourages a wider adoption of RFID technology in improving current PM practices. It also provides academia with a platform for further exploring the innovative uses of RFID technology in construction.     

Building a new third construction sector through social enterprise

Social enterprises are profit-making businesses which trade for a social purpose. They bridge the gap between welfare and work, providing employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups often excluded from employment in the construction industry. Social enterprises are a fast-growing part of a larger third economic sector. However, compared to other industries, there are relatively few social enterprises operating in construction and little is known about the challenges they face in doing so. In-depth interviews at 12 UK social enterprises reveal that many of the challenges faced by social enterprises in the construction industry are similar to those faced by social enterprises operating in other industries. These include: building trust, managing hybridity; securing finance; measuring social impact; and achieving scale. However, in addressing the lack of sector-specific insights in social enterprise research, challenges unique to construction are also identified. These include: procurement practices which favour industry incumbents; costly tender bureaucracy; established supply chain relationships; lack of experience of working with social enterprises; disingenuous corporate social responsibility practices; and fear that social enterprises will reduce competitiveness. Recommendations are made to resolve these challenges, enabling the construction sector to create an ecosystem where social enterprises can thrive. Questions to guide future research into this unexplored area are also proposed.     

Towards an agent-based construction supply network modelling and simulation platform

The construction industry is being asked by more progressive clients to change its crude ways of working and to adopt more efficient business processes to improve its performance by adopting supply chain management (SCM) practices that have evolved in more advanced industries. This represents a major risk for many companies given the “one off” and complex nature of construction projects. The long-term aim of the work presented in this paper is to develop a modelling and simulation platform, which will provide an inexpensive and risk-free environment for organisations to experiment with emerging SCM practices prior to implementation. The wider adoption of such best practices has the potential to save the industry large sums of money. The case for the use of a multiagent systems framework for developing the platform is presented. A prototype system developed to explore the potential for the use of such an approach to model and simulate collaborative project supply network preplanning is presented. Future research work required to achieve the long-term aim is then presented.     

An integrated information management model for proactive prevention of struck-by-falling-object accidents on construction sites

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries in many countries. Struck-by-falling-object accidents are not given adequate attention even though they are of great importance on construction sites. The objective of this paper is to analyze the proactively preventive information requirement of struck-by-falling-object accidents and propose an integrated information management model using a ZigBee RFID sensor network to fulfill these requirements. First, the frequency of particular type of objects is analyzed based on vast historical accident cases. Next, this paper analyzes the proactively preventive information requirement of struck-by-falling-object accidents and brought forth an integrated information management model. Furthermore, considering the crucial and controllable objects, an integrated information management model is proposed. This study would provide a possible approach for tracking struck-by-falling-object accidents based on real-time information for proactive prevention and could serve as a foundation for further study.     

建筑材料供应链性能评估研究

供应链管理模式的发展对供应链性能评估理念提出了新的要求,供应链概念的扩展拓宽了对供应链评估要素的研究范畴.基于对传统建筑业供应链性能的改进,本文提出了一个与供应链性能检测系统结构、设计、运行、管理有关的建筑业供应链性能评估模型,并对其进行了讨论.     

Third-party logistics in construction: the case of a large hospital project

The construction supply chain is of temporary nature and complex, with many interactions between multiple actors in different construction projects. This challenging context typically leads to relatively higher costs and lower productivity, compared to other industries. Supply chain management (SCM) has been put forward as a mean to better handle this challenging context. As a part of SCM initiatives some construction industry stakeholders have turned to third-party logistics (TPL) providers, especially in large construction projects. The use of TPL providers is a new, and under-investigated, phenomenon in the construction industry. The main purpose of this study is thus to explore the use of a TPL provider in a large construction project and to analyse its resulting effects. Driving forces and possible concerns for implementing TPL are identified and the possibility for TPL to be a facilitator for implementing SCM in construction is investigated. The research is based on a literature review and an explorative case study of a large hospital project in Sweden, where the client and the main contractor have initiated the use of a TPL provider to coordinate sourcing and materials handling activities on site. The results show positive effects on establishing an effective interface between the construction site and the supply chain. The results also show that a TPL solution facilitates an increase in productive work at the construction site itself, a reduction of costs and an increased utilisation of site assets. On the downside, the study also shows a lack of SCM knowledge amongst the involved actors in the project, hindering them to reap the full potential of TPL.     

智能建造产业的核心企业供应链组织结构解析

智能建造将给传统建筑业产业链带来变革,进而引起全产业链条上相关企业供应链关系的重构、竞合与创新变化。根据智能建造的特征挖掘出四个关键子产业,构建供应链集成框架,并分析供应链组织元素,在此基础上,提出智能建造产业的核心企业供应链组织集成模式,以推动智能建造产业的发展。     

基于 Arena 仿真的建筑供应链投资 RFID成本分摊研究

实验表明 RFID 技术能为装配式建筑的管理带来极高的效率，然而 RFID 技术投资成本较高，目前尚不知如何在供 应链间进行成本分摊。以一个预制构件工厂和施工工地的供应链模型为基础，根据南京市某项目的预制外墙板供应链的实际 情况，利用 Arena 软件模拟供应链使用 RFID 技术和不使用 RFID 技术相应的总时间和失误情况，对比分析投资 RFID 技术 带来的收益。根据模拟结果计算出投资 RFID 技术的条件下工厂和工地承担该技术的成本分摊比率，结果表明投资 RFID 技 术显然受益，且定位到构件的概率在 50%以上时对供应链双方投资该技术的比率影响较小。     

An agent-based framework for supply chain coordination in construction

Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) and effectively improving the performance of organizations in various industries. Coordination refers to the integration of different parts of an organization or different organizations in supply chain to accomplish a collective set of tasks and to achieve mutual benefits. This paper defines the concepts of construction supply chain (CSC) and construction supply chain management, especially regards construction supply chain management as the coordination of interorganizations decision making in construction supply chain and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in construction supply chain. Much research and practice indicate that there still are many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyzes the problems in construction supply chain. In order to resolve these problems and improving the performance of construction, an agent-based framework for construction supply chain coordination is designed based on the agent technology and multiattribute negotiation and multiattribute utility theory (MAUT). The framework, which integrates the construction organizations in construction supply chain and multiattribute negotiation model into a multiagent system (MAS), provides a solution for supply chain coordination in construction through multiattribute negotiation mechanism on the Internet. Finally, the prototype of the framework is developed and tentatively run based on an imaginary construction project. The trial run reveals the feasibility to implement the agent-based framework for coordination in construction.     

Distributed object models for collaboration in the construction industry

Information about products for the construction industry is increasingly often provided to designers in digital ways that enable them to apply the information directly in the design process. Digital product catalogues are provided using various media and formats and several initiatives are taken by the industry and by CAD developers to integrate this kind of information into CAD systems. Generally, current practice is to distribute the information to designers, for example, by using CD-ROMs or a website where the information can be downloaded. In our research, we recognise that distributing information in this manner detaches it from the business processes in the construction supply chain, which is a major disadvantage.The project presented in this paper concerns the implementation in the Dutch construction industry of a methodology for sharing product information through a distributed object model. The methodology, which is called Concept Modelling, forms a generic basis for the support of collaborative design, but is applied in this project to the integration of information from the supply chain in the design process. Through the distributed object model, design information and product information can be integrated while the actual data objects remain at their source. This enables the supply chain to provide information of a high semantic level to designers while keeping the control over the information and maintaining the relationship of the information with their business processes.The advantages of this approach in which information is shared, rather than exchanged, are numerous. Redundancy of information is minimised, consistency is improved, and updated information is available immediately. Moreover, design and construction processes can benefit significantly from the dynamic aspects of accessing information that is tied to business processes in the supply chain. For example, product selection during design can be based on latest information on product details, prices, production methods, and variants of products. This information can be provided to designers automatically and on demand.     

National collective bargaining and employment flexibility in the European building and civil engineering industries

Change in employment practice in the European construction industry is reviewed with particular attention to the effects of flexible working on established arrangements for national collective bargaining. Data derive from European survey research coordinated by Cranfield School of Management in 1995 and from interviews with trade union and employers association representatives in the same period. Membership and support for trade unions and employers associations has weakened, although there are significant differences between countries. The most significant changes in employment practice in construction are found in the increased use of temporary, short term and fixed term contracts; in subcontracting, and in the use of overtime. These changing working practices tend to fragment the workforce and to undermine established systems of institutional interest representation. The distinctive commitment of UK employers to temporary or casual work and to subcontracting is confirmed. The changes contribute to pressure on arrangements established through multi-employer bargaining, although employers and trade union representatives remained committed, at the time of our research, to multi-employer collective agreements.     

Augmented process model for e-tendering: Towards integrating object models with document management systems

The management of the construction industry is exponentially increasing in complexity since it has to deal with highly fragmented, complex and unique combinations of business relations, communications and processes. Each phase in the construction cycle requires effective communication/sharing of information/knowledge as well as coordination among project participants and stakeholders, thus leading to timing and technical content transfer enhancements and/or problems as well as related efficiency and/or profitability loss. Recent advances in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are considered essential and promising in improving sharing/exchange of project information as well as communication among construction industry stakeholders whilst reducing associated costs and time.One facet of such advances in ICT is evident from the proactive indulgement of the construction supply chain in collaborative extranets. Extranets are able to capture the supply chain communication practices and provide a controlled communication hub as well as document management databases with all ICT enhanced features. In parallel, the construction industry has recognized the importance of sharing and exchanging project information across the supply chain through project integrated databases. However, such advancements in the ICT utilisation in construction industry were unable to develop a system that exchanges/shares project information, at the element level, over a well defined matrix of communication that can also integrate into the business processes of the members of supply chain.The objective of this study is to highlight the needs to bridge this gap through the development of an augmented process model which will enable integrated databases to support collaborative extranets at the Tender stage. This paper will discuss the features, limitation and nature of the process and information models which can be integrated into the core business processes of the construction supply chain members. This is basically achieved by investigating the communication processes and information exchanged across the supply chain during the construction tendering phase.     

基于BIM 的建筑供应链信息流模型的应用研究

在我国项目管理领域推行建筑供应链管理是一种必然趋势。建筑信息模型（BIM）是数字技术在建筑业中直接表达,信息是项目管理中的重要资源,信息流对建筑供应链管理有着特别重要的意义。文章从BIM 和建筑供应链的研究现状出发,提出了将BIM 应用于建筑供应链信息流管理的设想,并设计了基于BIM 的建筑供应链的信息流模型基本架构,进而研究了如何解决建筑供应链参与方的不同数据接口间的信息交换问题,以及基于BIM 的建筑供应链信息流模型在信息共享方面所具有的优势。     

Combination of radio frequency identification (RFID) and field verification tests of interior decorating materials

In recent years, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been considered an important technology affecting the development of industries around the world and is valued in many fields. In the construction industry, RFID benefits construction engineering and management by improving efficiency and control. This study describes the influence of combination manners of RFID and interior decorating materials on RFID system recognition by identifying appropriate combination manners and tag space layouts. The main study results include (1) building materials' influence on effects of RFID, (2) readable distance between tags and readers, and (3) electronic wave penetration of passive tags. Limitations of the RFID applications on material management were also identified.     

建筑业供应链管理特点及作用分析

通过阐述建筑施工企业的行业特点，进而介绍了建筑业供应链的概念及结构模型，归纳了建筑业供应链管理的特征，阐明了建筑业实施供应链管理的必要性，以促进建筑业的稳步、健康发展。