Papers by Marcus Jefferies
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Sep 4, 2009
The efficient and effective management of time on complex construction projects (especially when ... more The efficient and effective management of time on complex construction projects (especially when concerned with the development and resolution of extension of time claims) has long been considered a major issue in construction contracts. Recent research has culminated in the production of a new standard form of contract drafted specifically as an attempt to overcome these issues. This research identifies the perceived critical success factors that are recommended to be included in, and addressed by the new standard form of construction contract in an attempt to alleviate these issues, and reviews a selection of Australian standard forms of construction contract for the presence of the perceived critical success factors. A review of current literature was carried out to identify the perceived critical success factors for the effective and efficient management of time with respect to extension of time claims, together with a qualitative analysis of the new standard form of construction contract as verification of the identified critical success factors and their management and application.A comparative analysis was undertaken of the extension of time provisions of a selection of Australian standard forms of construction contract as a means of determining their efficiency and effectiveness for resolving extension of time claims in a modern construction industry.The research identified 69 critical success factors that should be present in the clauses of standard forms of construction contracts to efficiently and effectively enable the resolution of extension of time claims for the benefit of all parties involved.The selected Australian standard forms of construction contract were found to be vague with respect to the content and inclusion of the perceived critical success factors, providing a greater opportunity for an extension of time claim to evolve into a dispute between the contracting parties.
Routledge eBooks, Dec 16, 2022
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Sep 1, 2006
Recent trends in the provision of infrastructure development indicate that the private sector is ... more Recent trends in the provision of infrastructure development indicate that the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in the procurement process. This trend has partly arisen out of a necessity for the development of infrastructure to be undertaken at a rate that maintains and allows growth. This has become a major challenge for many countries where it is evident that these provisions cannot be met by government alone. The emergence of Public-Private Sector Partnerships (PPPs), such as Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) schemes, is a response to this challenge and provides a means for developing the infrastructure of a country without directly impacting upon the government's budgetary constraints. This paper examines perceptions of BOOT schemes in order to develop a framework of critical success factors (CSF). Success factors are identified from relevant literature and a project specific CSF framework is produced with key issues discussed. Discussion focuses on a case study of a current Australian BOOT project, the Sydney SuperDome, which is proving to be an example of how both government and private industry is attempting to meet Australia's need for infrastructure in the new millennium.
Construction Management and Economics
Competing demands for public sector investment for new social infrastructure has prompted Austral... more Competing demands for public sector investment for new social infrastructure has prompted Australian governments to increasingly turn to the private sector to form partnerships in the construction, ownership and operation of social infrastructure assets (PPPs). The ...
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Oct 4, 2022
PurposeResearch on strategic procurement was mostly focussed on the clients' and main contrac... more PurposeResearch on strategic procurement was mostly focussed on the clients' and main contractors' perspectives, while limited work had been done from a subcontractor's perspective. The paper hypothesises that “strategic capability” influences the latent constructs of power, dependence and collaboration in the main contractor–subcontractor relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of a subcontractor's strategic capabilities on power, dependence and collaboration.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was developed and distributed amongst the subcontractors in Australia, and 212 complete responses were received. Then second order confirmatory factor analysis and partial least square structure equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis were performed to test the hypothesised relationships.FindingsThe findings support “strategic capabilities” as a construct expressive of a subcontractor's unique market position and good business reputation. The findings also suggest that strategically capable subcontractors enhance their potential for forming partnerships with main contractors through dependence (StratC. → Dep., β = 0.84; Effect Size (ES) = 0.713; p < 0.01), collaboration (StratC. → Collab., β = 0.84; ES = 0.697; p < 0.01) and bargaining power (StratC. → Pow., β = 0.83; ES = 0.672; p < 0.01).Originality/valueThe study is one of its kind to explore the impact of a subcontractor's strategic capability on their bargaining power, dependability and ability to form collaborations. Furthermore, results indicate that the “strategic capabilities” of subcontractors can strongly influence their ability to create “dependence”, foster “collaboration” and exert “power” over a main contractor. The findings can help improve the strategic procurement decision-making processes of both subcontractors and main contractors to build better business relationships.
Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, 2021
Planning is the first phase throughout the project lifecycle that ensures proper execution based ... more Planning is the first phase throughout the project lifecycle that ensures proper execution based on correct estimations to achieve objectives. Leveraging previous lessons learned significantly help to rectify planning mistakes and use more effective techniques. This paper explains the application of lessons learned for improving the planning outcomes in construction projects. An empirical methodology based on a case study was adopted to (1) introduce an effective method for diagnosing and resolving planning issues in construction projects, and (2) test this method in a case study project. This process underlines the importance of documenting and employing lessons learned from previous projects towards improving processes and enriching the organization's knowledge base on effective project delivery methods. The suggested approach provides construction contractors with practical insights on the topic and extends the literature by proposing a planning assessment method.
Springer eBooks, 2021
Information technology (IT) is evolving rapidly and benefits a wide variety of industries to brea... more Information technology (IT) is evolving rapidly and benefits a wide variety of industries to break conventional communication barriers. Recent advancements in management information systems have enabled project-based organizations to monitor and control their projects more effectively. Although the role of IT tools (ITT) has been explored in previous research, the importance of each type of tool in achieving higher effectiveness in real-time management of projects has been less studied. This study aims to explore the significance of each type of IT tools for this purpose. Thus, a survey of principal contracting organizations in the construction industry was carried out, which indicated that reporting tools, integrated platforms, analytical tools, knowledge management tools, and archiving tools are key ITT groups that should be applied collaboratively. Although reporting tools were perceived as the most important group from the experts’ view, the correlation analysis also revealed that all five groups are interrelated and should be applied coherently to achieve satisfactory outcomes. This study explains the application of ITTs for real-time project management and directs further research on this topic.
Where common procurement guidelines are used, guidelines have been evaluated in terms of their re... more Where common procurement guidelines are used, guidelines have been evaluated in terms of their relevance to construction works. Comparison The tender documentation, communication procedures, selection process, selection panel, and presence of feedback and compensation were the main areas of concern in all of the guidelines. They will be used to evaluate the ethical component of the guidelines. By comparing each guidelines stance towards these areas of interest we can determine:
The development of sustainable relationships grounded in ethical practice is necessary to ensure ... more The development of sustainable relationships grounded in ethical practice is necessary to ensure continued success in the construction industry. In order to achieve this, stakeholders need to shift from a 'low ethics' base to a 'high ethics' base in their business transactions. Ethics and principles should be integrated into every aspect of the construction procurement process as a natural thought process. This research paper focuses on the promotion, management and diffusion of ethical practices in the construction industry identifying ways in which these factors encourage widespread cultural change. This research paper presents a component of a larger research project where the major outcome is the production of an industry wide 'Code of Practice' for the provision of construction services in the whole procurement process. The project findings will foster and promote the sound practice of business ethics, help to initiate new perspectives on the future development of ethical practices and improve organisational efficiency through the adoption of ethical practices.
Organization, technology and management in construction: An international journal, 2014
The Chinese government has shown an active attitude in encouraging and supporting the participati... more The Chinese government has shown an active attitude in encouraging and supporting the participation of private investors in the provision of public infrastructure and services. There is a huge investment opportunity for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in China. However, China has immature regulatory and institutional PPP frameworks. This paper hence aims to review the application of PPP in China and consequently draw lessons for future references. It was found that China has a wealth of experience with PPP under the strong support of central and subnational governments. Given the tremendous economic growth and immense demand for infrastructure, China will continue to have a massive demand for future PPP projects. This paper is important as its contribution is to summarize the application of PPP in China in terms of opportunities, current usage and future trends.
The international journal of construction management, Apr 2, 2019
The recent advancements in the project execution thinking and the growing levels of large capital... more The recent advancements in the project execution thinking and the growing levels of large capital-intensive investment projects in construction have led to increased attention to the 'collaboration'. Loss or lack of collaboration between project partners is seen as the most significant professional and project execution in the construction industry. This study aims to identify the enablers, i.e. governing factors of collaboration. This study applies a systematic review methodology to explore the literature and achieve the objectives. In the process of this systematic literature review, a total of 800 articles were identified in the construction domain, out of which 110 articles were found to be relevant for this study. The 'citation analysis' was performed on the articles identified by 'content analysis' as relevant to this study, which focused on the issue of the construction industry and issues of subcontractors. The findings identified that trust, commitment and reliability are the enablers of collaboration in construction projects. Providing due attention to the enablers of collaboration, i.e. 'trust, commitment and reliability' in the context of the project execution decisions, can facilitate collaboration and thus enhancing project productivity.
Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management, Aug 16, 2022
Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of “power” and “dependence” attr... more Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of “power” and “dependence” attributes in the context of a construction project and to explore the impact of the antecedents on risk transfer and collaboration to develop a conceptual framework for decision-making. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was performed using various databases to identify the antecedents and their measures. This review followed the established preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocols and 246 articles were identified. The articles were qualitatively analysed based on keyword co-occurrence approach using VOSviewer software. Findings The findings of this systematic review established latent constructs, that is, “clarity of procurement decisions”, “market structure” and “market competition” as antecedents of power and two antecedents of dependence, namely, “reputation” and “commercial importance”. And a framework was conceptualized to determine the contractual approach and the procurement design should be planned to take in account the scenarios and the course of action to enhance collaboration and control risk transfer. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to identify the “antecedents” of the attributes of “power” and dependence and framework was conceptualized to determine the contractual approach.
Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, May 1, 2020
AbstractCollaboration among project participants, specifically between main contractor and subcon... more AbstractCollaboration among project participants, specifically between main contractor and subcontractor, is an essential element for efficient project delivery. Observation from the literature sug...
International Journal of Project Management, Nov 1, 2007
Public-private partnerships (PPP) are becoming an increasingly popular option of project delivery... more Public-private partnerships (PPP) are becoming an increasingly popular option of project delivery. Under the concession-based PPP arrangement, the private partner is responsible for funding the scheme, while their capital investment will be recovered through the operation revenue over the concession period. Therefore, calculating an appropriate investment return over the concession period becomes a very important aspect that influences success of the PPP project, particularly so as the concessionaire may be tempted to increase their toll/tariff should the revenue fall short of their expected. However, due to the difficulties in estimating the long-term uncertainties and wider-risk profiles at the tendering stage, the government would conduct the traditional net present value and payback period analyses to determine the concession period. In this paper, a simulation model which aims to assist the public partner to determine an optimal concession period is proposed. A hypothetical example is worked through to illustrate the concept of the simulation model. The results show that the risks and uncertainties, such as a change in inflation rate, traffic flow and operation cost, could influence the decision on the concession period. With the help of the simulation model, the impact of risk can be taken into account when establishing an ideal concession period.
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Papers by Marcus Jefferies