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Purpose: The UK water industry is a private sector that has no government mandate to implement building information modelling (BIM) but would benefit from its use. Research has identified that fragmentation and inefficiency still existed in the water industry project delivery processes. These issues can be addressed by harnessing the collaboration that BIM brings by using emerging information technology. The UK water industry has had little research in the use of BIM in the project delivery processes over the years. Design/methodology/approach: The aim of the research is to explore and examine BIM elements currently used in the water industry, as well as understand the organisational cultural support for BIM. It also investigated the adoption of BIM which will enable to improve water industry project delivery processes. An empirical study was performed in the UK given the relatively new and unexplored nature of the research problem, a qualitative research methodology was adopted. In total, 14 semi-structured interviews from six water sector organisations were conducted to collect data, which was then analysed using thematic analysis for inference and conclusion. Findings: The study identified that BIM has already changed how projects are delivered by the water companies and their supply chain. Use of emerging technology such as Autodesk Revit, Civil 3D and virtual reality has gained traction and is leading organisations to continue investing in these areas to remain relevant. Although staff training was offered by all organisations within the study cohort, some interviews still thought that more can be done by their organisations as BIM is still maturing. Those interviewed regarded BIM models as data and information rich with the ability to enable the supply chain to obtain quicker approvals. Originality/value: The paper provides a richer insight into the understanding and awareness of BIM elements used in the water industry to improve project delivery processes. This study suggests that the water industry supply chain has taken positive steps and started to benefit from BIM use. It also recommends that there is a need for cross-sector collaboration to capture and share best and worst practices relating to BIM adoption in the water sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction management literature sees the collective task of coordinating design as being about the "'integration'" of "fragmented" discipline-specific design tasks/outputs, thus overlooking the important role of social interactions. This is not only conceptually problematic but also presents a practical management problem. As a response, a practice-based approach, which relies on a "becoming" ontology, is adopted for a practical explanation of design coordination for more effective design management. The adopted methodology suggests that design develops as a result of unfolding (path-dependent) individual actions and interdisciplinary interactions. Based on this, the concept of a "shared sense of purposefulness" is proposed to refer to the temporary and precarious organizational state of a design team in which each of the interacting team members has achieved a state of purposefulness to resume individual action. Hence, design coordination in construction is redefined as continuously re-establishing and maintaining "a shared sense of purposefulness". The concept's usefulness for understanding the practice of design coordination is demonstrated using data collected from a project in the UK. The discussion enables fresh insights into the everyday operation of design coordination. It is concluded that the proposed conception paves a way forward both for the research and practice in construction design management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The re-use of good design solutions is a key source of evidence and knowledge in the design of healthcare buildings. However, due to the unique nature of healthcare built environments, the critical application of this evidence is of paramount importance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the features of such critical application and identify the aspects that need to be considered during the re-use of good designs. Design/methodology/approach: Data from three case studies of hospital designs in the UK were used to explore the processes behind the adaption and re-use of design solutions during the design of healthcare buildings. Data were thematically analysed to distinguish the aspects that should be carefully compared and contrasted during design re-use. Findings: Existing designs of healthcare buildings should be captured and evaluated along with: patient demographics, care models of the hospital, other local departmental needs and facility operational aspects in order to ensure the effectiveness of re-use. In addition, properly introducing the design to the users is also a part of successful design re-use. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this research were integrated into a framework to support healthcare designers on the effective re-use of good designs. This data-driven framework could be validated further with design practitioners. Further, this research relied on memory recall of the interviewees and the accuracy and completeness of documentary records. Practical implications: This research provides details of how healthcare built environment designs are embedded in project-unique circumstances. The results could therefore be used to develop meaningful and informative evaluation mechanisms for new and re-used healthcare building design features. Originality/value: This research extends the understanding of the critical application of healthcare design evidence, by explaining how healthcare design solutions should be evaluated during the design process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Following the increasing need for faster construction, improved quality and evidence value propositions, offsite construction is increasingly being proffered as a viable contender to "traditional" construction approaches. However, whilst evidence supports the move towards offsite, its uptake has been lower than expected. Whilst the precise reasons for this seem to be influenced by a number of issues, including contextual drivers and market maturity; some project stakeholders also view offsite as carrying greater risks. The purpose of this paper is to report on the quality of information flow, in particular, the impact and influence of this on design risks in offsite construction projects.Design/methodology/approach An existing design risk framework is used as the point of departure for this research. This is further expanded into a specific model for evaluating offsite construction projects design risks, the rubrics of which were informed by two case studies of offsite construction projects in Australia and the UK analysed with a process-tracing technique. Whilst these cases were geographically separated, the constructs were aligned to uncover fundamental design information requirements and concomitant risks associated with offsite.Findings The findings of the research reported in this paper include the crucial information feeding into the design process emanating from the lifecycle of offsite construction projects, namely, design, offsite (manufacturing), handling and transporting, site works and installation and also occupancy. These are contextualised within the four categories, namely, client requirements, project requirements, regulation aspects and social aspects and the final outcomes were summarised into a holistic diagram.Originality/value Given that the offsite construction has shifted the working paradigm into assigning a significant level of efforts and emphasis at the front end of the construction projects, the importance of its design process and hence design risks management has gone up significantly in construction projects delivered using this technique. This research and paper contributes significantly to the built environment domain by identifying the crucial aspects along the project lifecycle to be considered to minimise the potential occurrence of design risks and hence increasing the confidence of project stakeholders in adopting offsite construction techniques in their projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, design is regulated through a system of control for the public interest, which aims to promote quality in the built environment. This system is primarily implemented by local planning professionals with political oversight. These agents are afforded high levels of discretion in the interpretation and implementation of policy and guidance, yet little is known about how they perceive this system or operate within it, creating a 'veil' over the decision-making process. This paper engages with the attitudes and perceptions of these agents through in-depth interviews and Q-Methodology, articulating six unique discourses (the Discretionary Champion, the Civic Advocate, the Rule-Breaking Regulator, the Subjective Theorist, the Self-Assured Evaluator and the Prescriptive Pragmatist) that shed light on a contested arena, identifying how planners understand and approach the control of design, utilise their individual agency, and consider their capacity to pass judgement on design matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost unknown at the turn of the twenty-first century, the construction design manager role is an innovation that has been adopted rapidly by the large to medium sized contracting organisations in the UK. Despite this, literature relating specifically to the construction design manager is sparse. Thus, the aim of the research was to better understand the role of design managers. A longitudinal study captured insights from early career design managers and experienced design managers working for contracting organisations, primarily on design and build type contracts. Following a pilot study, 36 face-to-face interviews were conducted over a six-year period. Findings revealed original views, new insights and trends related to the evolving role of the construction design manager in a digital environment. These views both support and extend understanding as reported in two guides for design managers published towards the end of the research programme. This is a unique insight into how a new role in construction has evolved over a six-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As design management programmes in the UK have become multicultural and multinational, there is a need to make sure that teaching and learning strategies are relevant and effective for all groups of students. In the present study, Western and Eastern students' preferences for particular learning styles were compared to find out whether there were any differences. Three sets of questionnaires were distributed to three groups: current students, recent graduates and lecturers/programme directors. Teaching multicultural and multinational groups of students was considered challenging by most staff. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in terms of learning style. Interestingly, the majority of design management students (both Western and Eastern) adopt the converging approach (learning by doing and thinking), as most of them are interested in the application of theories and in practical coursework. There were minor differences in their preferences for teaching and learning activities. While some tasks (e.g. expert interviews) came naturally to Westerners, Easterners needed more time to become familiar with them, and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is design education in the UK out of touch with what industry needs? And vice versa? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisations have acknowledged the importance of design as a strategic tool and therefore have recognised the need to effectively manage it. This has led to the development of the Design Management occupation, which while some believe is a mature and established profession others question its current status. Due to their certain similarity and proximity to Design Management, the professional status of two other UK occupations: Marketing and Public Relations (PR), is assessed along with that of Design Management, using Wilensky's process of professionalisation. The paper also tests the hypothesis that Wilensky's process should be treated as a set of criteria rather than a process, hence the sequence in which these stages occur does not affect the professional development of an occupation. Looking at the development of Marketing and PR in the UK, this hypothesis is validated because both occupations have achieved full professional status, albeit achieving these criteria in a different sequence. While both Marketing and PR can be characterised 'established professions', Design Management in the UK is currently a 'semi-profession'. Based on a comparative analysis, the paper offers two implications for the Design Management occupation in the UK, firstly, the need to define the occupation's body of knowledge and secondly the need for the establishment of a UK-based professional association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work of designers is a vital aspect of the design-construction process. Error during design of major hazardous installations can translate into risk to the safe operation of the installation. Yet designer error remains a generally neglected topic in risk research in the oil and gas industry. This paper examines the perceptions of the aetiology of designer error by exploring dialogues with various stakeholders of the design-construction process in the oil and gas industry. Twenty-three stakeholders, including designers, fabricators, clients and regulators, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that while designer competency levels, barriers to communication and attitudes to safety were among some of the main factors perceived to be causes of errors, participants also believed that these factors were somewhat reinforced by the time and budgetary restraints imposed on design projects, and driven mainly by wider pressures prevailing in the industry. Findings helped to illustrate that stakeholders in the industry perceive design error to be attributable to a combination of system-wide and latent errors, which were very different to those affecting end users in the oil and gas industry and should be addressed separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design is an increasingly important part of the competitive strategy of food retailers in the UK. This paper examines the design management process within one of the leading UK food retailers to provide a model of the process. This model constitutes a contribution to design management theory in the retail sector. The process of retail design management is explored and discussed. This paper attempts to provide an exploratory base for future linkages to be made between design management and retail marketing theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lightweight, rapid-erect shelter system using a new combination of composite materials and fabric diaphragms in a truss support system has been developed in response to changes in military requirements. This paper outlines the background to the project and the reasons for its inception; it follows the development of the design from initial conceptual idea to eventual solution. Decisions influencing the overall design, structure, materials, prototyping and manufacturing techniques are discussed in relation to performance criteria and client capabilities. The authors focus on the problems encountered in the development programme and the innovation process, highlight how these problems were overcome and detail the benefits which were created. In particular, the resulting tent incorporates lightweight sprung glass reinforced composite beams, post-tensioned by a fabric diaphragm. The new shelter uses a minimum number of these lightweight, rigid components and consequently achieves a reduction in weight, erect and strike times and packed bulk through its innovations. Pour repondre a l'evolution des besoins des forces armees, on a developpe un nouvel abri leger, a montage rapide, qui utilise une nouvelle combinaison de materiaux composites et de diaphragmes en toile dans un systeme a bati-support. Cet article rappelle les grandes lignes du projet et les raisons de sa mise en oeuvre; il decrit l'avancement du concept, de la conception initiale jusqu'a solution definitive. Les decisions qui ont une influence sur la conception generale, la structure, les materiaux, les prototypes et les techniques de fabrication sont examinees par rapport aux criteres de performance et aux capacites de l'utilisateur. Les auteurs se penchant notamment sur les problemes rencontres dans le cadre du programme de developpement et au niveau de l'innovation; ils expliquent clairement comment ces problemes ont ete resolus et exposent en detail les avantages qui en decoulent. En particulier, la tente qui est nee de cette idee est realisee avec des poutres composites renforcees a la fibre de verre elastique legere, qui sont post-tensionnees par un diaphragme en toile. Ce nouvel abri utilise un nombre minimal de ces composants rigides et legers. Ce concept permet donc de reduire le poids ainsi que les temps de montage et de demontage; en outre, ces tentes peuvent etre emballees en quantites grace a toutes ces innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to advance an understanding of how design in the fashion industry can be successfully managed to contribute to environmental sustainability. Its objectives are to investigate how fashion businesses use environmentally sustainable strategies and how designers contribute to the development of sustainable products. The article reviews the literature of the sustainability of fashion through the circular economy and design management. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews and a quantitative survey of designers in the UK. A framework based on the level of business engagement in sustainability was used to structure the thematic analysis of the findings. The research demonstrates the relatively low influence of designers on sustainable fashion strategy and their engagement at a tactical organizational level. It concludes by developing a model for the integration of designers into the management of sustainable fashion business. • Technologists, buyers and sustainability managers tend to lead sustainable product development. • Designers have a strategic engagement when designing for longevity. • There is a need to improve designer education and training in sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]