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TG81 - Workshop Global construction data
Chair: Stephen Gruneberg
REVIEWING CONSTRUCTION STATISTICS IN NORTH CYPRUS
Ibrahim Yitmen, Ilknur Akiner, Cem Taneri
Abstract: Construction is one of the industries of strategic economic importance. Governments using their national institutions are involved in the collection of economic statistics, which indicate the state of their economy in an annual time series. However the completeness and accuracy of these statistics are always questionable by the stakeholders within the sector. Therefore there is an increasing need of accurate, manageable and reliable statistics for the sound analysis of the construction sector.
The Annan Plan has had a major impact on the construction industry and its sub-sectors with increasing production, import and sale volumes compared to previous records in North Cyprus. Between the years of 2003 and 2009, many building and civil engineering projects like hotels, residents, dormitories, and highways were constructed by the private sector initiatives such as owners, investors, developers, and contracting firms. Additionally, many infrastructure projects were constructed under the Grant Program of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union. On the other hand, campus construction of some state universities of Turkey and local private universities are ongoing. Despite these economic developments, a national authority on statistics i.e State Statistics Institute has not been established yet. This creates a great lack of reaching and accessing updated statistic information needed within the construction sector as in other sectors. State Planning Organization (SPO), Union of the Chambers of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCCTEA) and Association of Cyprus Turkish Construction Contractors are the current public and non-governmental organizations which provide statistical information to the sector. But the statistical reports prepared by these institutions are not timely and not equipped with sufficient information for the needs of the sector. Therefore all the stakeholders (investors, contractors, architects, engineers, material suppliers) face difficulties in timely access to the information they need and therefore they cannot make sound decisions.
The main objective of this study is to evaluate construction statistics of North Cyprus in order to ascertain their adequacy in terms of scope, portrait, reliability and responsiveness in their coverage of the construction industry. The research includes an extensive review of the construction statistics in North Cyprus, interviews with the key stakeholders (contractors, material suppliers, architects, engineers, consultants etc.) of North Cyprus construction industry, and in light of all these reviews a questionnaire survey to be prepared, conducted and analyzed.
This review of construction statistics will provide a conceptual framework of statistical information to be presented in a more comprehensive content, sufficient portrait, highly reliable in terms of quality, and responsive to dynamic changes of the sector (inflation, structural adjustment policies etc.). Additionally, it is aimed to detect and minimize the uncollected information and thus make contribution for prevention of unregistered activities within the sector.
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NEW OUTPUT QUALITY INDICATORS IN CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT
Jan Bröchner
Abstract: Productivity increase in the construction industry is often seen as low. Construction innovation projects could be prioritized partly based on expected contribution to industry productivity. Quality change in construction outputs and inputs is crucial. The purpose is to explore new output quality indicators. The analysis draws upon life cycle analyses for facilities, project benchmarking schemes and environmental assessment systems. Disruption of client core activities due to technology and method choice in construction projects should be taken into account, and also the willingness of clients to pay for risk reduction. The result is a set of output measures. Primary output is identified as ‘useful area’. Secondary output measures, with estimates provided by expert panels, would include effects on future energy consumption, effects on other future operations and maintenance resource needs, effects on client/user disruption, reduction of client/user risk during operation and maintenance, user comfort, architectural quality, and external societal effects. However, it would not be feasible or even desirable to collect a wider range of data routinely for the production of official statistics at the industry level.
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THE USE OF THE UK BENCHMARK MODEL TO DEVELOP A STANDARD GLOBAL APPROACH TO CONSTRUCTION DATA
Stephen Gruneberg
Abstract:
Keywords: global construction data, UK benchmark model, gross fixed capital formation, population, urbanisation
ABSTRACT
The human population of the world has grown rapidly in the last fifty years. The impact of this growth has been discussed in terms of its sustainability. Invariably the discussion has focused on the natural environment. However, the impact of the population explosion has also had a dramatic effect on the built environment. An unprecedented amount of building work has been carried out over the last fifty years, perhaps more construction in one generation than in the whole of human history.
Still more construction work is needed not only to meet the needs of an increasing population but also to meet the rising expectations of that population in terms of the quantity and quality of the built environment. Increasing urbanisation is changing the way people live and the way society operates. Construction is often seen as a threat. Yet this is a response to growing population pressures and the need to transport people, food and materials.
Yet it is difficult to find a source of information on a global scale that combines the data that is available. Unless there is a measure of construction activity throughout the world there is no way of gauging the scale of the issues involved.
There is a need to know the location of activity, the types and quality of output, and the numbers and skills employed in the construction workforce. Only when these measures of the construction industry are found, policies to deal with construction problems, such as homelessness, migration, health and safety, training and skills, trade in materials, carbon emissions and many other issues can be assessed by the international community.
In combining data from different countries, the issue becomes one of making judgements about appropriate exchange rates, the use of purchasing power parities, definitions of terms used and comparing different building standards for different climatic conditions.
Setting these issues to one side, a benchmark model of construction based on the UK construction industry is used to calculate the size and growth rate of the global construction industry and this is used to compare to other estimates of global construction. It is suggested that the global construction industry using the benchmark model can itself then be used as a benchmark to compare more detailed national construction statistics with an international standard.
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A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTRUCTION DATA SOURCES
Abimbola Windapo, Pumelele Qongqo
Abstract: This paper examines the numerous documented and undocumented construction data sources available to researchers, construction professionals, clients and government policy makers in South Africa. The paper explores whether the authenticity of these data sources are reliable and accurate because there are assumptions and processes behind the computation of the documented and undocumented data sources which are unknown. The rationale for the examination of these documented and undocumented construction data sources stems from the argument put forth by scholars that a significant number of these data sources have loopholes and black holes and therefore need to be verified. The paper intends to identify authentic South African construction data sources which can be used in construction data analysis and propose possible methods that should be used in preparing valid construction data sources for publication.
Keywords: Construction Data, Cost, Health and Safety, and Performance
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A DECADE OF CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT? AN INDUSTRY VIEW OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT IN SINGAPORE UNDER CONSTRUCTION 21
George Ofori, Evelyn Teo, Imelda Tjandra
Abstract: Keywords: Construction21, change, construction industry development, industry perspective, Singapore
ABSTRACT
Sir John Egan’s report on UK construction industry in 1998, Rethinking Construction, inspired a similar review in Singapore in 1999. The Construction 21 (C21) report has served as the blueprint for developing Singapore’s construction industry.
A series of interviews was carried out in late 2009 to investigate the implementation of the C21 report during the ten-year period. The aim was to ascertain the achievements and challenges, and the consequent changes in practices and procedures in the industry. A representative cross section of samples was taken to include policy makers, clients, consultants, professional bodies, and trade associations.
The general perception was that considerable progress had been attained in the development of construction industry, although the achievements had not as much as had been intended in the C21 report. A decade after the publication of the C21 report, although a range of progressive practices highlighted in C21 have been adopted in the industry, some of the initiatives in the recommendations in the report are still in progress and some have been launched but have not been pervasively used in the industry.
Although Singapore has made much progress in developing its construction industry, the extent to which the industry reforms have fulfilled their original intentions is not completely clear. The impact of the initiatives on the way companies and practitioners work is also not clear. Hence, there is a need to revisit priorities and review the progress so far and map out general strategies for the future.
E-MAIL: bdgofori@nus.edu.sg
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