ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0058-6008
Current Organisations
Princeton University
,
University of New South Wales
,
RMIT University
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Building Construction Management | Agriculture, Land and Farm Management | Sustainable Development | Building | Architecture And Urban Environment Not Elsewhere Classified | Building Not Elsewhere Classified | Construction Engineering | Public Health and Health Services | Building Construction Management and Project Planning | Environmental And Occupational Health And Safety | Structural Engineering | Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety | Civil Engineering | Human Resources Management | Education And Extension |
The professions and professionalisation | Construction not elsewhere classified | Metals (e.g. Composites, Coatings, Bonding) | Civil Construction Processes | Other | Civil Construction Design | Injury control | Industrial relations | Housing | Housing | Environmental education and awareness | Institutional arrangements | Injury Control | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander development and welfare
Publisher: Thomas Telford Ltd.
Date: 10-2013
Abstract: Preventing occupational health and safety hazards through design is consistent with the principle that occupational health and safety is best managed by eliminating hazards at their ‘source’ rather than reducing risks that eventuate in the workplace. In 2007, an industry-initiated research and development project was undertaken in Australia to identify and document best practices used in the management of occupational health and safety in the construction industry, resulting in the publication of a Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction. The project was a whole industry effort to identify occupational health and safety ‘best practices’ through the project life cycle. The guide provides an industry-agreed framework for clients, designers and constructors, with an emphasis on cooperation, communication and reaching consensus about a reasonable allocation of responsibility for occupational health and safety in a given project situation. Four years since the publication of the guide, the implementation of the design stage best practices is examined. Three case study projects (a large road construction project, a desalination plant and a high-rise building project) are used to illustrate the practical impact of considering the occupational health and safety of construction workers in design decision-making in accordance with the ‘safer construction’ principles contained in the guide.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 05-02-2018
DOI: 10.1108/IJHMA-02-2017-0022
Abstract: Real option valuation is capable of accounting for uncertainties in residential development projects but still lacks practical adoption due to limited evidence to support application of the theory in practice. The purpose of this paper is to use option valuation to value staging option embedded in residential projects and compare with results from DCF to determine which of the two methods delivers superior results. The fuzzy payoff method (FPOM), a real options model that uses scenario planning approach to generate a range of figures, from which a single-numerical value is computed for decision-making. The results showed that the use of a range of figures was able to represent uncertainties to a higher degree of accuracy than the static DCF. As a result, the FPOM was able to capture about 3 per cent of the value of the project that was missed by the DCF. The staging option offers an opportunity to abandon unprofitable phases of a project, thereby limiting downside losses. Thus, real option models are practically applicable to cases in property sector. Residential property developers must consider flexibility in financial feasibility evaluation of development because of the embedded value in uncertain property projects. It is important to account for optionality in financial evaluation of property projects for value maximisation. The FPOM has been used for the first time to evaluate a horizontal phasing of a residential development project.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-05-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2003
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Date: 12-2014
Abstract: Construction sites are dynamic environments due to the influence of variables such as changes in design and processes, unsteady demand, and unavailability of trades. These variables adversely affect productivity and can cause an unstable workflow in the network of trade contractors. Previous research on workflow stability in the construction and manufacturing domains has shown the effectiveness of ‘pull’ production or ‘rate driven’ construction. Pull systems authorize the start of construction when a job is completed and leaves the trade contractor network. However, the problem with pull systems is that completion dates are not explicitly considered and therefore additional mechanisms are required to ensure the due date integrity. On this basis, the aim of this investigation is to improve the coordination between output and demand using optimal-sized capacity buffers. Towards this aim, production data of two Australian construction companies were collected and analyzed. Capacity and cost optimizations were conducted to find the optimum buffer that strikes the balance between late completion costs and lost revenue opportunity. Following this, simulation experiments were designed and run to analyze different ‘what-if’ production scenarios. The findings show that capacity buffers enable builders to ensure a desired service level. Size of the capacity buffer is more sensitive to the level of variability in contractor processes than other production variables. This work contributes to the body-of-knowledge by improving production control in construction and deployment of capacity buffers to achieve a stable workflow. In addition, construction companies can use the easy-to-use framework tested in this study to compute the optimal size for capacity buffers that maximizes profit and prevents late completions.
Publisher: Springer London
Date: 31-07-2014
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-05-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
Date: 04-08-2000
DOI: 10.1061/40513(279)4
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
Date: 17-06-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: University of Technology, Sydney (UTS)
Date: 18-06-2013
Abstract: The construction industry is plagued by long cycle times caused by variability in the supply chain. Variations or undesirable situations are the result of factors such as non-standard practices, work site accidents, inclement weather conditions and faults in design. This paper uses a new approach for modelling variability in construction by linking relative variability indicators to processes. Mass homebuilding sector was chosen as the scope of the analysis because data is readily available. Numerous simulation experiments were designed by varying size of capacity buffers in front of trade contractors, availability of trade contractors, and level of variability in homebuilding processes. The measurements were shown to lead to an accurate determination of relationships between these factors and production parameters. The variability indicator was found to dramatically affect the tangible performance measures such as home completion rates. This study provides for future analysis of the production homebuilding sector, which may lead to improvements in performance and a faster product delivery to homebuyers.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-05-2014
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2012
Publisher: ACM
Date: 21-07-2012
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 02-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 1991
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 12-01-2010
DOI: 10.1108/09699981011011357
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the roadmapping methodology and its application to concrete prefabricated housing in Australia. The paper describes the concrete and housing industries of Australia collaboration in a project to develop a technology and innovation roadmap that will advance the concrete industry's supply chain capabilities by identifying and mapping innovation necessary for prefabricated concrete house construction. The roadmap lays out what is necessary for an off‐site systems‐based approach to housing construction in Australia. The systems‐based approach to prefabricated concrete products is a relatively new and developing extension of the concrete industry supply chain in Australia. New manufacturing technologies and innovations, which are emerging locally and from overseas, make these potential extensions possible. For the long‐term sustainability of the concrete industry, it is critical that it better understands how to adopt cooperative innovations in prefabrication to realise these benefits in the housing industry and advance Australia's competitiveness. The first phase of the mapping involved the development of an industry‐maturity model that determined the current state of the industry, and plotted this against the desired route for the future. Numerous industry‐based workshops and interviews gathered the views of the industry towards existing concrete housing systems, and where their main difficulties are in relation to adoption. Using these data, a technology roadmap is developed, together with three options on how these might be realised using the roadmap. The options offered through the roadmapping process form the basis for ongoing experimental trials of concrete houses in the major cities of Australia. The system‐based approach to prefabrication is seen as innovative and the industry needs to understand how to adopt cooperative innovations in prefabrication in order to be competitive. The paper offers insights into the technology roadmapping process in Australia, offering an exciting prospect for moving the industry into a new model of delivery.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 05-07-2013
DOI: 10.1108/BEPAM-06-2012-0036
Abstract: The research aims to explore the interaction between design decisions that reduce occupational health and safety (OHS) risk in the operation stage of a facility's life cycle and the OHS experiences of workers in the construction stage. Data was collected from three construction projects in Australia. Design decisions were examined to understand the reasons they were made and the impact that they had on OHS in the construction and operation stages. The case ex les reveal that design decisions made to reduce OHS risk during the operation of a facility can introduce new hazards in the construction stage. These decisions are often influenced by stakeholders external to the project itself. The results provide preliminary evidence of challenges inherent in designing for OHS across the lifecycle of a facility. Further research is needed to identify and evaluate methods by which risk reduction across all stages of a facility's life cycle can be optimised. The research highlights the need to manage tensions between designing for safe construction and operation of a facility. Previous research assumes design decisions that reduce OHS risk in one stage of a facility's life cycle automatically translate to a net risk reduction across the life cycle. The research highlights the need to consider the implications of PtD decision‐making focused on one stage of the facility's life cycle for OHS outcomes in other stages.
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 2016
Publisher: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
Date: 20-03-2018
Abstract: The essence of Australian community buildings’ sustainable management drives through a previously established decision-making structure with four sustainability aspects and accompanying 18 criteria. Informed decisions are supported with a decision-making model that generates sustainability impacts of building components based on this decision-making structure. Building components’ in idual impacts can be assigned using a numbering scale incorporated with linguistic terms. However, similar importance given to each aspect or criterion is arguable when the combined effect is considered. Hence, they should be given different weightings and their combination with in idual impacts will produce final sustainability impacts. For calculating weightings, the study uses Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), widely used technique in Multi Attribute Decision-Making (MADM). The study also conducted an industry-wide questionnaire across Australian local councils because pair-wise comparison data is essential for weighting calculation. This paper presents the survey data and analysis results that captured weightings of sustainability aspects and criteria.
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 16-01-2009
DOI: 10.1108/14714170910931552
Abstract: Much has been written on offsite manufacture (OSM) in construction, particularly regarding the perceived benefits and barriers to implementation. However, very little understanding of the state of OSM in the Australian construction industry exists. A “scoping study” was recently conducted to determine the “state‐of‐the‐art” of OSM in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to report on the overall findings of the study. The study took a broad qualitative survey‐based approach. This involved three industry workshops, several interviews and seven case studies across four major states of Australia. The study surveyed a range of suppliers across the construction supply‐chain, incorporating the civil, commercial and housing segments of the market. The study revealed that skills shortages and lack of adequate OSM knowledge are generally the greatest issues facing OSM in Australia. OSM uptake into the future is dependent on many factors, not least of which is a better understanding of the construction process and its associated costs. Unlike the USA and UK, the Australian construction industry faces unique challenges in how it transforms construction into a modern and efficient industry. This is the first work undertaken to determine the benefits and barriers to OSM in the Australian construction industry.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 06-1997
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-05-2019
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-07-2020
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-2000
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-1990
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 1990
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2011
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-09-2017
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 05-2015
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 1998
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 11-01-2011
DOI: 10.1108/09699981111098676
Abstract: This paper seeks to examine a hierarchical measurement model for occupational health and safety (OHS) performance developed for use in the Australian construction industry and tested over the life of one case study construction project. The model was intended to provide a more sensitive and informative measure of project OHS performance than traditional injury frequency rates. Two measurement tools were tested. The tools, a monthly weighted safety index and a quarterly safety climate survey, were used to measure OHS performance and performance data are presented. The data suggest convergent validity, indicated by consistent results between the two measures. Results also indicated that a combination of measurement techniques provides more comprehensive data pertaining to project OHS performance and enables the diagnosis of OHS issues that would be undetected with reliance exclusively on traditional measures, such as lost time injury frequency rates. The implications for future research lie in the demonstrated need to carefully evaluate the validity of the safety index and safety climate survey in future construction projects, and in the broader construction context. The results were limited to an evaluation of the measurement model in a single case study construction project and future testing is needed to determine the generalisability of the model. The implications for practice are that multiple measures of OHS performance, including leading indicators and surveys of workers' attitudes and perceptions of project OHS, provide a more useful basis for the development of targeted OHS improvement strategies. The paper develops a theoretical framework for the measurement of OHS using positive performance indicators and safety climate surveys. The evidence for convergent validity suggests that, in combination with traditional lost time injury rates, these measures provide a more robust method for the early detection and rectification of OHS issues in construction projects.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 04-2014
DOI: 10.1108/JPIF-02-2014-0014
Abstract: – In Australia, the A$2.2 trillion managed funds industry including the large pension funds (known locally as superannuation funds) are the dominant institutional property investors. While statistical information on the level of Australian managed fund investments in property assets is widely available, comprehensive practical evidence on property asset allocation decision-making process is underdeveloped. The purpose of this research is to identify Australian fund manager's property asset allocation strategies and decision-making frameworks at strategic level. – The research was undertaken in May-August 2011 using an in-depth semi-structured questionnaire administered by mail. The survey was targeted at 130 leading managed funds and asset consultants within Australia. – The evaluation of the 79 survey respondents indicated that Australian fund manager's property allocation decision-making process is an interactive, sequential and continuous process involving multiple decision-makers (internal and external) complete with feedback loops. It involves a combination of quantitative analysis (mainly mean-variance analysis) and qualitative overlay (mainly judgement, or “gut-feeling”, and experience). In addition, the research provided evidence that the property allocation decision-making process varies depending on the size and type of managed fund. – This research makes important contributions to both practical and academic fields. Information on strategic property allocation models and variables is not widely available, and there is little guiding theory related to the subject. Therefore, the conceptual frameworks developed from the research will help enhance academic theory and understanding in the area of property allocation decision making. Furthermore, the research provides small fund managers and industry practitioners with a platform from which to improve their own property allocation processes. – In contrast to previous property decision-making research in Australia which has mainly focused on strategies at the property fund investment level, this research investigates the institutional property allocation decision-making process from a strategic position involving all major groups in the Australian managed funds industry.
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 04-2003
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 06-2014
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 11-1989
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Publisher: Spon Press
Date: 09-02-2009
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 03-05-2016
Abstract: – The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge on the advantages of integrating safety earlier in the construction project lifecycle. – A case study approach is used to collect data from construction sites in the USA, which performs poorly in construction safety and health, and Australia (AU), which performs well in construction safety and health. Qualitative data are collected to determine how and when safety is considered in the project lifecycle in both countries, and then the results are benchmarked to determine the benefits of addressing safety earlier in the process. – Data show that addressing a potential hazard earlier in the project lifecycle has performance benefits in terms of the level of hazard control. – The processes that are identified as possibly explaining the performance difference are just based on qualitative data from interviews. Targeted research addressing the relationship between these processes and safety outcomes is an opportunity for further research. – The case study data are used to identify specific processes that are used in AU that might be adopted in the USA to improve performance by integrating safety earlier into the decision-making process. – This paper highlights the advantages of integrating safety as a decision factor early in the process. Worker safety is not just an issue in the construction industry, and thus the findings are applicable to all industries in which worker safety is an issue. – This paper advances the safety in design literature by quantitatively supporting the link between when a hazard is addressed and performance. It also links the results to specific processes across countries, which advances the literature because most research in this area to data is within a single country.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 26-04-2019
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 19-01-2015
DOI: 10.1108/ECAM-08-2013-0074
Abstract: – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the timing with which decisions are made about how to control work health and safety (WHS) risks in construction project (i.e. either pre- or post-construction) and the quality of risk control outcomes. – Data were collected from 23 construction projects in Australia and the USA. Totally, 43 features of work were identified for analysis and decision making in relation to these features of work was mapped across the life of the projects. The quality of risk control outcomes was assessed using a classification system based on the “hierarchy of control”. Within this hierarchy, technological forms of control are preferable to behavioural forms of controls. – The results indicate that risk control outcomes were significantly better in the Australian compared with the US cases. The results also reveal a significant relationship between the quality of risk controls and the timing of risk control selection decisions. The greater the proportion of risk controls selected during the pre-construction stages of a project, the better the risk control outcomes. – The results provide preliminary evidence that technological risk controls are more likely to be implemented if WHS risks are considered and controls are selected in the planning and design stages of construction projects. – The research highlights the need for WHS risk to be integrated into decision making early in the life of construction projects. – Previous research has linked accidents to design. However, the retrospective nature of these studies has not permitted an analysis of the effectiveness of integrating WHS into pre-construction decision making. Prospective studies have been lacking. This research provides empirical evidence in support of the relationship between early consideration of WHS and risk control effectiveness.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-1990
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 16-01-2017
DOI: 10.1108/ECAM-10-2015-0158
Abstract: Australia has a huge stock of community buildings built up over decades. Their replacements consume a large sum of money from country’s economy which has called for a strategy for their sustainable management. For this, a comprehensive decision-making structure is an utmost requirement. The purpose of this paper is to capture their sustainable management from four aspects, i.e. environmental, economic, social and functional. The design process follows an extensive review of environmental and life cycle assessments and company context documents. Extracted factors are tailored to community buildings management following expert consultation. However, the resulted list of factors is extremely large, and “factor analysis” technique is used to group the factors. For this, an industry-wide questionnaire across Australian local councils is employed to solicit opinions of the list of factors. The analysis has pinpointed 18 key parameters (criteria) to represent all four aspects. This paper presents the preliminary findings of the factors and the analysis results based on the questionnaire responses. The final decision-making structure incorporates all these aspects and criteria. This can be used to develop a decision-making model which produces a sustainability index for building components. Asset managers can mainly use the sustainability index to prioritise their maintenance activities and eventually, to find out cost-optimisation options for them. Most notably, this is the first study to apply all four sustainability aspects (environmental, economic, social and functional) to develop a decision-making structure for Australian community buildings’ sustainable management.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 21-03-2017
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 03-1991
Publisher: Trans Tech Publications, Ltd.
Date: 10-2013
DOI: 10.4028/WWW.SCIENTIFIC.NET/AMM.438-439.1719
Abstract: Buildings are one of the major infrastructure investments in cities. Sustainable preservation of building assets in order to deliver an appropriate level of service throughout their life cycle requires a comprehensive and optimised decision making methodology. This decision making method needs to be supported not only by accurate data, but also by proper manipulation and aggregation techniques to target the highest potential longevity of construction materials. Condition monitoring methods help asset managers collect required information about their buildings to make justifiable judgments for maintenance and rehabilitation strategies. This data is collected in the condition monitoring stage within a defined scope of a condition monitoring manual. The level of detail in data collection may depend on the asset management system, element hierarchy adopted by the organization and criticality of assets. While detailed condition data is collected during building condition assessments, for higher-level optimised strategic asset management overall conditions of element groups are desirable to project the capital investments and expenditures. The paper reviews condition monitoring techniques for buildings and also presents a risk-based methodology for aggregating the inspected conditions to a higher group level of inspected elements which leads to a greater accuracy of decisions to be made for strategic management of buildings.
Location: United States of America
Start Date: 2006
End Date: 2008
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2006
End Date: 2008
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2009
End Date: 2012
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2008
End Date: 2011
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2012
End Date: 2015
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 08-2006
End Date: 03-2010
Amount: $336,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 09-2006
End Date: 07-2010
Amount: $295,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2013
End Date: 12-2017
Amount: $210,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 03-2009
End Date: 12-2012
Amount: $230,643.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 09-2009
End Date: 08-2013
Amount: $300,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 08-2021
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $664,580.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity