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The use of mobile computing on the construction site has been a well-researched area since the early 1990's, however, there still remains a lack of computing on the construction site. Where computers are utilised on the site this tends to be by knowledge workers utilising a laptop or PC in the site office with electronic data collection being the exception rather than the norm. The problems associated with paper-based documentation on the construction site have long been recognised (Baldwin, et al, 1994; McCullough, 1993) yet there still seems to be reluctance to replace this with electronic alternatives. Many reasons exist for this such as; low profit margins, perceived high cost; perceived lack of available hardware and perceived inability of the workforce. However, the benefits that can be gained from the successful implementation of IT on the construction site and the ability to re-use construction site data to improve company performance, whilst difficult to cost, are clearly visible. This thesis represents the development and implementation of a data capture system for the management of the construction of rotary bored piles (SHERPA). Operated by the site workforce, SHERPA comprises a wireless network, site-based server and webbased data capture using tablet computers. This research intends to show that mobile computing technologies can be implemented on the construction site and substantial benefits can be gained for the company from the re-use and integration of the captured site data.

The management of present day construction projects is becoming increasingly complex and challenging due to many factors. To meet this challenge it is of the utmost importance to provide efficient management throughout projects. This research is an empirical study to human resource management (HRM) in the Sri Lankan construction industry. The research focuses on the particular roles that staffing, employee development and rewards has on the motivation of masons in the Sir Lankan construction industry. The structured interview was chosen as a main research instrument for data collection. 90 masons and 30 supervisors were randomly selected from 10 construction sites within the Sri Lankan construction industry. The study's findings show that the supervisors and masons in the construction industry in Sri Lanka are aware of the supposed advantages of staffing, employee development and the rewards of a HRM approach. However, these characteristics have yet to play a significant role in the motivation of Sri Lankan supervisors and masons. The contextual application of these three strategies will improve motivation of the Sri Lankan construction workforce. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on motivation and also presents a HRM framework for improving the motivation of supervisors and masons in the Sri Lankan construction industry (SLCI). The implementation of this HRM framework could give a new dimension and benefits to the SLCI. If successfully implemented this same framework, could be applied in other industries such as manufacturing and defence after it has been tailored to fit such industries. It could also be used in other developing regions similar to Sri Lanka.

e economy of the country. In Europe, the construction industry is facing a difficult time and the signs indicate that this crisis will not come to an end in the near future. The low level of productivity within the construction industry is related to a number of factors and the productivity level within a construction firm is of direct interest to the management. This thesis identifies and investigates the most significant factors that influence the productivity levels on construction sites. A process model of productivity has been developed to evaluate the likelihood of a construction sites having a high level of productivity. The model identifies which determinants have the most significant influence on productivity. An exploratory research was conducted in London using four project managers, four site managers and two general foremen. A literary search was carried out using the factors that influence productivity on construction sites. The complexity of the issues raised included site manager/project manager characteristics, resource management, management systems, issues related to wastage, delay and disruption on site, and the effect of dissatisfying and motivating factors on the workforce. Other closely related determinants of productivity were also investigated in the thesis. After the exploratory interviews and literature review, a pilot questionnaire was composed which included 55 questions, which incorporated ten themes of the most significant determinants of productivity within the construction site. This led to the development of a hypothesis and sub-hypothesis. 16 case studies with a high level of productivity and 16 case studies with a low level of productivity were investigated in the London area. All of the construction firms who participated in the case studies are involved in providing homes for Housing Associations. In order to test the hypothesis and sub-hypothesis the following technique was used: Data from the 32 case studies was fed onto a spreadsheet containing all the information that is related to site productivity. The relationship between influencing factors and the productivity level is tested using the correlation co-efficient and the chi-square test. Output from the analysis was tabulated and highly significant factors affecting productivity was ranked. The research findings were then interpreted by going back to the 32 case studies to find out the "combination" of causes, which led to a high or low productivity level (i. e. the group of factors). This was performed using the "factor analysis" of the SPSS package. Finally Linear regression method was used to investigate the possible linear relationship between the factor grouping and construction site productivity. The analysis offers several recommendations, which includes important suggestions for improving construction productivity with a productivity model for improving productivity on site. The analysis results confirmed that pre-construction activities, site/project management characteristics, management factors, management system, labour characteristics, resource management and motivating and hygiene factors are strong influential factors in improving construction site productivity. After completion of the study conclusion, a number of recommendations were put forward.

The work reported in this thesis presents a framework for supporting path-planning analysis of construction sites based on multi-objective evaluation of transport cost, safety, and visibility. These measures are combined to allow capturing conditions that satisfy optimum evaluation of multi-criteria design requirements. For the analysis of a static site layout, the above criteria can be combined or individually optimised to present site planners with the safest path, the shortest path, the most visible path, and the path that reflects a combination of low risks, short distance, and high visibility between two site locations. The path-planning framework uses a multi-objective optimisation approach in making a more informed strategic decision regarding the movement path of people and vehicles on construction sites, and detailed decisions regarding travel distance and operational paths on workplaces, enabling site planners to examine paths scenarios. In general, this work addresses the lack of computer-based support tools for multi-objective optimum path finding applications that can be used interactively to assist site planers with generating alternative path scenarios. This IT tool will support the use of what-if analysis for planners so that they can work out the movements paths for people and vehicles for a given site layout. This optimisation application uses mathematical search algorithms namely; Dijkstra, A*, and Genetic Algorithms to find efficient paths between two site locations based on a combination of transportation cost and safety related criteria. The path-planning framework contributes to the application of information technology in the field of construction to specifically address issues in relation to safety-related measures and transport economy.

This thesis identifies and illuminates key construction industry issues that affect the design and implementation of Human Resource Development (HRD) schemes, based on the application of workplace performance evidence. It focuses on National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) for construction site supervisors, site managers, technical services practitioners and contracts managers; together with a professional development programme (PDP) for construction graduates which is designed to satisfy the professional practice requirements of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The study identifies key features of the economic, social and business environments in which construction vocational education and training takes place; and uses four case studies to identify implementation issues and the strategies used to design and implement the NVQs and the PDP. Material for the case studies is largely derived from participant observation by the author who variously took part in the development of the NVQs and PDP either as a Member of the CIOB or as a training and development consultant. Findings show the high degree of commitment and involvement needed by each employer seeking to provide and support workplace development opportunities. As a consequence, the thesis portrays the limitations of the workplace as a major resource for providing nationally recognised and accredited vocational qualifications. Workplaces and employer workplace support generally are not accessible to unemployed, contracted or part-time practitioners; and there are difficulties in reconciling each employer's work practices with those necessary for the acquisition of an NVQ. Each case study identifies some common implementation issues and also some, which are specific to the circumstances of those with an interest in the particular scheme (NVQ or PDP). The thesis concludes that the Government top-down policies and implementation strategies for NVQs do not adequately take account of the circumstances of the stakeholders and contrasts them with the more inclusive and successful policies and implementation strategies adopted by the CIOB when developing the Site Management NVQ and the PDP. The thesis underlines the ways by which the CIOB was able to use well established employer and practitioner networks and consultation procedures in the implementation processes. It suggests that professional bodies might be encouraged to take a more leading and proactive role in the implementation of future national vocational education and training developments.

This research aimed to identify the key factors affecting the safety performance of major contractors and their construction sites in Hong Kong. By the use of literature review and a contextual study of the construction industry in Hong Kong, potential variables for factors of safety performance were identified. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted, one for the senior management personnel of construction companies who are the safety policy and safety system decision makers, and the other for safety officers and safety supervisors who are responsible for the implementation of safety policies and safety systems on sites. Data obtained from the questionnaire surveys were analysed by the use of factor analysis. Safety variables were then grouped, depending on the relationships between variables representing factors for safety performance, and pair-wise comparison by the analytic hierarchy process (ABP) used to determine the ranking and the relative importance of these factors. In order of importance, the six factors identified, which most affect the safety performance of major construction companies are resources, safety system, time devoted to safety, effective communication, safety policy, and company's safety committee. A further five factors affecting the safety performance of construction sites are identified namely safety training, safety practice and procedures, communication of company safety policy, site safety committee, and participation and consultation. Industrial norms for safety performance have been evaluated by the use of factors and weighted sub-factors, together with the priority vectors of the factors derived from the pair-wise comparison matrix of the ABP. The factors and their priority vectors are then developed into two models. One for the factors affecting the safety performance of major contractors (Fcsp) and one for the factors affecting the safety performance of major contractors' construction sites (Fcssp). Both models are then independently verified by means of a practitioner questionnaire survey and a site observation survey. The research concludes that workable models have been produced which can be continuously improved and adapted to benchmark and measure construction industry safety performance in Hong Kong.

Prefabrication is an effective form of building construction in terms of function, quality, time, cost, safety and the productive use of labour and other resources. Unlike automated manufacturing industries, however, the prefabricated building manufacturing industry is manually intensive and its process information lacks integration, and interdependency. The project presented in this thesis considers automation and integration of the building components' manufacturing process as an ultimate goal. An initial review of the current structure and practices of the pre-cast industry is presented. The thesis then discusses a prototype computer-aided manufacturing information system that automates the process of information flow, tabling and scheduling and facilitates data exchange between design, fabrication and erection, using standardised objects and procedures. The system has been the product of adaptation of a selection of a set of computer software applications from those most commonly used by practitioners in the building industry. The major element of the work in developing of the system is the modelling of the process attributes and the structuring of data objects. The system incorporates the Access Basic, Visual Basic and SQL programming systems as elements of integration. The system can effectively generate the production schedules and reports and model the manufacturing attributes of a given factory. The system is able to provide a platform for exchanging manufacturing related data between the diverse software packages and allow access for multi users. It is concluded that this approach has the potential to improve efficiency because. The exchange of one global information set between all business departments eliminates double handling of information. The easy tracking and control of production information flow improves the overall control of materials and stock and rationalises the use of storage space. The linking of production schedules with erection programmes provides a logical interdependency between construction sites and factory. The standardisation of information entities facilitates monitoring of all manufacturing activities and helps in reducing overheads.

This thesis describes the investigation, research methodology and conclusions of an enquiry into those factors which influence productivity on construction sites, with a special emphasis on management control and the effect of financial incentives. The researcher spent periods of between two and four weeks on each of twelve sites in England and Scotland collecting data directly from observation. The projects were divided into three main categories, simple steel-framed single-storey buildings, complex concrete-framed multi-storied buildings and heavy concrete construction projects of a predominantly civil engineering character. Full descriptions of each site and the conditions affecting the project are given. The main conclusions of the research were: 1. Labour delays can and should be reduced by skilled management. 2. A positive relationship between productivity and management was found at a modest level of correlation indicating that, as the level and quality of management rises there will be an improvement in the productivity of the contract. 3. There was no apparent correlation between the effect of incentive schemes and productivity but PBR was in use in eight of the most productive operations. 4. Although other variables investigated seemed to have little effect on productivity it is agreed that no 'single factor can be viewed in isolation'. 5. The research suggested that buildability may be a productivity factor but not direct correlation could be found linking productivity and the buildability data used. 6. Surrogate activities as such were not identified. 7. The data collection method employed, although time-consuming and expensive, did ensure a high level of accuracy.

The conclusion that setting a specific, difficult but attainable goal will improve task performance is one of the most robust findings in the occupational psychology literature. Considerable debate exists, however, amongst goal-setting researchers about whether goals should be assigned by an authority figure (delegated) or set participatively (jointly determined). A narrative and quantitative (meta-analytic) review of literature on assigned vs participative goal-setting was conducted. The available empirical evidence to date is inconclusive. Participative and assigned goal-setting conditions were utilized as part of a much larger study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a behavioural approach toward the improvement of safety performance in the UK construction industry. Four construction sites were involved in the research reported in this thesis. A multiple baseline with reversal design was used. Two different experimental protocols: training, goal-setting and feedback; and goal-setting and feedback was used. Data were collected over a 55 week period (3 times per week) by trained observers using a safety performance checklist developed as part of the overall research. Results were analysed to explore the relative effects on performance of participative and assigned goal-setting methods. These demonstrate that both methods of goal-setting can be effective in improving safety performance. Participative methods were superior during the first intervention period, but the evidence, although suggestive, is inconclusive during the second intervention period. Supplementary hypotheses reveal that the goal-commitment/performance relationship does not appear to be as straightforward as previous evidence would suggest; during the second intervention, goal-commitment was higher for those working under an assigned, rather than a participative goal-setting regime, but performance was lower. Further, performance feedback appears to be more salient with assigned goal-setting, especially when training is part of the intervention.

This research observes and analyses the behaviour of construction site managers at their actual settings and attempts to connect the concluded behaviour pattern with their level of effectiveness. The aim is to get a better understanding of the actual skills required to run projects effectively and what composes (makes) an effective site manager. A research model was developed from systems theory and contingency theory. Effectiveness is defined, in the model, as the difference between the preset objectives and the actually achieved ones and was measured using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The major propositions of the model are that: (a) Personal variables have an impact on effectiveness level, (b) Job variables have an impact on effectiveness level, (c) Organisational variables have an impact on effectiveness level, (d) Project variables have an impact on effectiveness level, (e) Site managers behave differently to other managers, (f) Behaviour of site managers is shaped by effectiveness and variables mentioned in (a), (b), (c) and (d). The model was tested against 30 site managers, running 30 projects and working for 15 construction companies. Data was collected through interviews, questionnaire, site records and most importantly 685 hours of direct observation in 81 site visits, all of which was administered personally by the author. The outcome emphasized most of the above propositions and gives important guidelines to construction companies in areas of; recruitment and selecting policy of site managers, training policy of site managers, assessment policy of site managers, roles and responsibilities of site managers. Finally, the research provides implications for those considering possible directions for further research.

A study is described concerned with assessment and prediction of noise from large civil engineering construction sites. The relevance of this topic is demonstrated in the first chapter by reference to recent national and international standards and legislation. A combined noise and postal social survey was conducted around an urban highway construction site to determine the factors controlling construction noise annoyance. Dose-response criteria were measured and compared for both construction and traffic noise and the importance of attitudinal factors in determination of construction noise annoyance was demonstrated. Other conclusions concern the utility of postal surveys to the execution of medium scale investigations of this type. Two chapters are concerned with the description and pre- diction of noise from common construction equipment and processes. Typical sound pressure-time traces and frequency spectra are presented which reveal that machines may be assigned to categories that have significant bearing on noise propagation. Assumption involved in exposure prediction and measurement were tested and an exposure prediction method for earthmoving operations developed and validated. Particular attention was paid to characteristics and measurement of noise from impact pile drivers A strategic method of exposure prediction was studied by reference to the example of 'cut and cover' tunnelling. This allowed the determination of four estimates of noise exposure which were related to different construction techniques and the assessment of the contribution of each machine type to the total exposure. A study was made of the degree of noise control available for each machine type. This information was used to determine the effectiveness of various extents of use of noise-controlled equipment. Appendices are included which contain details of computer-based data analysis methods, questionnaires and other results.

The application of mulch products to disturbed soil is frequently used to decrease soil erosion. The addition of polyacrylamide (PAM) has been demonstrated to reduce erosion even further. We conducted rainfall-simulator and field tests on several types of mulch, hydromulch, and erosion control blankets with varying rates of PAM to determine the relative improvements in erosion control and vegetative establishment achieved by different groundcovers and PAM. We also compared applications of granular (37 and 74 kg ha-1) and aqueous (37 kg ha-1) PAM with straw. The tests were done on 2- x 1-m soil boxes tilted to 32% slope and three field locations with similar slopes. Under simulated rainfall, the addition of 37 kg ha-1 aqueous PAM to any mulch type tended to reduce runoff turbidity, TSS, and sediment loss, with reductions of 50% or more in some cases. In the absence of PAM, increasing hydromulch rate from 1971 kg ha-1 to 2957 kg ha-1 significantly reduced turbidity for an experimental cotton product but not for wood fiber. Granular PAM, when applied at a rate equal to that of aqueous PAM, had a significantly higher mean turbidity and TSS; total sediment loss was reduced by dry-PAM only at the higher rate. The lower rate of granular PAM apparently did not reduce erosion but did flocculate the sediment captured in the runoff collection bucket, reducing turbidity. In field experiments, bonded fiber matrix had significantly lower biomass and vegetative cover than all other treatments at one site but differences were not significant at other sites. In one instance where a cotton fiber matrix test product washed off the slope face, runoff turbidity and TSS was significantly higher than other treatments. There were no instances of straw with PAM significantly improving biomass or vegetative cover compared to straw alone.