Dispute Resolution Decision Support System For Indian Construction Contracts
Smita K. Patil N. B. Chaphalkar
The development of technology and modernization over the last few decades has resulted in an infrastructure boom in India. Most of the construction projects are executed through contracts. Both, contractor and client related to the contract pursue their aims, and try to amplify their benefits. This chase results into claims and eventually into construction disputes. The delay in settlement of disputes through litigation and arbitration not only hampers project progress, but also contributes to the cost and time overruns and damages relationship between parties to the contract. During dispute settlement there are chances that due to human element involved the decisions may be subjective. Thus there is a need to standardise the decision procedure for dispute resolution. This paper highlights the concept of development of Decision Support System (DSS) for faster resolution of disputes and as a means of litigation avoidance to some extent. An attempt has been made to integrate information related to the disputes arising out of “Variation and Deviation” in Indian Construction Contracts to develop DSS. The DSS includes questions in hierarchical order reflecting the manner in which disputes are resolved so that most of the points related to claims arising due to “Variation and Deviation” are referred before taking decisions. Further, a software for the DSS has been devised which aims at providing guidelines for the dispute resolution much faster than the prevailing system of arbitration and litigation helping the professionals to understand the results of the disputed claims.
Construction Contract; Construction Dispute; Dispute Resolution; Decision Support System; Contract Administration
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Research Articles
Examining the Authenticity of Project Leaders in the Construction Sector
Sachin Batra and Anukool Manish Hyde
With increased importance of success factors in construction projects, organisations are now preferring construction professionals with better people management skills and leadership skills rather than just technical skills. Researchers in the past have assessed various HR and organizational behaviour related factors responsible for project success in the construction sector. However, not much has been done in assessing the role of leadership amongst construction professionals. Therefore, this study aims to explore the construct of leadership in the construction industry. This paper presents a statistical analysis of authentic leadership, which is an emerging construct in leadership research. First, a theoretical analysis of authentic leadership is conducted to clarify the state of knowledge concerning the construction sector. We examined the theoretical foundations, nomological linkages and measured the construct of authentic leadership and finally concluded the work by presenting the measurement model of authentic leadership and the future research agenda. The final measurement model of authentic leadership consists of four sub-constructs, namelyLeadership Transparency (LT), Leadership Moral (LM), Leadership Balanced Processing (LB), Leadership Self-awareness (LS). The confirmatory factor analysis is conducted using the software package Latent Variable Analysis (lavaan) of the software 'R', which is a powerful tool for doing statistical analysis.
Modifications for Methods of Vendor Evaluation in Construction Industry: Criteria and Factors Involved in Vendor Evaluation
Vismay Shah , Faizan Mansuri , Uvesh Shaikh , Shreyas Divakaran , Preejith Pillai and Akib Shaikh
With the use of technology the world is growing faster and so is the construction industry. When we are talking about construction management, we mainly focus on execution of work based on parameters like time, cost and quality. But we all know that execution is not the only segment to focus on; Construction materials comprise about 60-70% of the cost. Selecting a proper vendor has become an integral part of construction management. This study investigates the change in trends and methods of evaluation for the selection of a vendor in the construction industry. The study also focuses on how to evaluate the vendor with the use of the weightage point method which revolves around the parameters of construction management – which are time, cost and quality. This study had been done through the case study of a project on which suppliers of crucial materials such as cement and steel have been evaluated. Also, with the modification of weightage method another parameter included in the study was the credit limit in terms of time and cost. The data analysis shows the modification of the formula and the entire composite rating system. Any firm that is into purchasing the construction materials has to constantly analyze the data of the vendors and also has to modify the method of evaluation.
Project Risk Identification and Analysis of Solar Power Plant Projects
Debasis Sarkar , N. Ranganath and Vinaykumar S. Mathad
The present work is identification of various risks involved in the life cycle of solar power projects right from concept to the commissioning including Operation and maintenance. In the present era of exponential growing energy demand and environmental risk posed by the use of fossil fuels, researchers have envisaged their interest in renewable energy sources. Solar power is more suitable option in most of the tropical climates like India. Solar parks in Rajasthan, Gujarat and parts of Karnataka are examples of harnessing the divine solar energy on a large scale. The initial installation and setting up of solar park poses a great challenge. Harnessing of solar energy for end user involves various phases with associated risks. It is observed in the literature that risk assessment is limited to developed countries. There are a number of studies related to technical and operational aspect of solar power plants. The study reveals that, there are large numbers of risks associated with implementation of solar power plants. The risks have been identified under five different phases with broad activity risks and sub-activity risks. Based on the present identified risks, the analysis revealed that major risks were observed during Phase-2 compared to other phases.
Renewable Energy; Solar Power, Solar Parks; Broad Activity Risks; Sub-Activity Risks; Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP); Expected Value Method (EVM)
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Research Articles
Building Information Modeling (BIM): Benefits, Challenges and Research Gaps for the Construction Industry
Harish L. Reddy M. S. Nagakumar
Building Information Modeling (BIM) enables the project stakeholders to build the project facility in a virtual environment and analyze it, before and during execution. This paper presents a summary of the benefits, challenges and research gaps encountered while implementing BIM in the project delivery process. A comprehensive literature review has been carried out to ascertain the level of penetration of BIM and gather feedback about its practical implementation. It is found that the potential of BIM application extends beyond visual presentations and reviews. BIM is a useful tool for automation and integration of information, but there is no available standardised process flow chart to work with. A number of commercial softwares are available in the market but follow different set of procedures in building the virtual model. Further, most of the tools and techniques available in BIM are focused on buildings and it is found that the same procedures do not hold good while being applied for infrastructure projects such as roads. This paper brings out these challenges and lays ground work for further research.
BIM; 4D CAD; 3D CAD; Automation
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Research Articles
Contract Closure Issues in Mega Turnkey Package: A Case Study on Integrated Steel Project
P. K. Chatterjee and Partho P. Chatterjee
In projects, a Contract is an agglomeration of technical, commercial as well as financial stipulations. When a package has been executed and in the package, the Contractor has fulfilled his Contractual commitments and obligations, it is essential to close the Contract to have a definite and logical end. A serene Contract closure leads the Employer / Client as well as the Contractor to zero disputes / arbitration at a later date, less audit queries, less annoyance, no mistrust, no scorn, etc. It also helps to work out as the erected cost of the package which is essential for arriving at definite cost of the project (DPC). However, closure of Contract ,especially for mega turnkey (TK) packages has always been a matter of concern due to its humongous nature, magnitude, scope of work, technical intricacies involved, interfacing issues, lapses on the part of Contractors / Employers in fulfilling their responsibilities during execution, subContractors/ vendors involved, commercial, legal and statutory issues, etc. It is not a trivial task, more so, for mega TK packages. These impediments necessitate a punctilious approach to Contract closure. The paper dwells upon the contemporary and pragmatic aspects to do justice to the issue. The paper is a humble approach from a Contract Manager's view point based on more than three and half decades of field experience as engineering Consultant in executing mega projects. The article may serve as a framework for project managers.
Integrated Iron and Steel Plant; Turnkey Package; Sole or Consortium Bidding; As Built/Constructed/Erected Cost; Owner's Engineer
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