Construction Companies (construction + company)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Basic Surveying of the Koralm Tunnel

GEOMECHANICS AND TUNNELLING, Issue 4 2008
Arnold Eder
The "Koralm tunnel basic network" had to be prepared for the design, construction, and construction supervision of the ÖBB railway project "Koralmbahn Graz-Klagenfurt" with the 32.8 km long Koralm tunnel as its core piece. This network is based on the "primary network" which is integrated into a network of GPS permanent stations and was or will be complemented as required. Since the project area covers two meridian zones of the national system, it was necessary to create a projection in a separate meridian zone for planar calculations. The paper describes the preparation, surveying and calculation of this network. In addition, it includes procedure instructions for the use of the network by planners and construction companies. Since the network has to be adapted to each construction phase, it has to be continuously developed. This will be described too. All data are managed by means of an ArcGIS server. Grundvermessung des Koralmtunnels Das Koralmtunnel-Grundlagennetz wurde für die Planung, den Bau und die Bauüberwachung des Koralmtunnels erstellt. Der 32,8 km lange Koralmtunnel bildet das Schlüsselbauwerk im Rahmen der neuen Eisenbahnverbindung Koralmbahn zwischen Graz und Klagenfurt. Das Netz baut auf einem Grundnetz, das in einem permanenten GPS-Stationsrahmen integriert ist, und wird je nach Projektfortschritt und -anforderungen erweitert. Durch die Lage des Projekts über zwei Meridianstreifen des öffentlichen Systems war es außerdem erforderlich, eine neue, ebene Projektion zu entwerfen. Der Beitrag beschreibt die Vorbereitungen für dieses System, die erforderlichen Vermessungs- und Berechnungstätigkeiten sowie die Hinweise für den Gebrauch dieses Netzes durch Planer oder bauausführende Firmen. Da in jeder Projektphase eine ständige Adaptierung des Netzes unabdingbar ist, werden auch Hinweise zu diesen Tätigkeiten gegeben. Alle Daten werden mithilfe eines ArcGIS-Servers verwaltet. [source]


An exploration of the relationship between training grants and profitability of UK construction companies

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2008
Mohamed Abdel-Wahab
A levy/grant system exists in the UK construction industry to provide financial support for companies undertaking training activities. With the current UK government skills policy, there is an emphasis on ensuring that training support provided to employers is aimed at enhancing companies' profitability. This paper explores the profitability of construction companies in relation to training grants. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze a uniquely combined dataset over the period 2002,2005. The research revealed that there is not a simple linear relationship between training grants and profitability. However, large and more profitable companies claimed more training grants in relation to the following areas of training: management, qualifying their existing workforce (certifying the skills of their existing workforce) and developing training plans. The authors argue that training grants should be targeted and focused towards specific areas of training if profitability gains are to be achievable. Future research should consider training grant utilization within the context of construction companies in order to ascertain the real contribution of training grants to their profitability. [source]


Reflexive Evaluation of an Academic,Industry Research Collaboration: Can Mode 2 Management Research be Achieved?

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 5 2009
Nathalie Mitev
abstract We present a reflexive retrospective account of a UK government research council funded project deploying knowledge management software to support environmental sustainability in the construction industry. This project was set up in a form typical of a Mode 2 research programme involving several academic institutions and industrial partners, and aspiring to fulfil the Mode 2 criteria seen as transdisciplinarity and business relevance. The multidisciplinary nature is analysed through retrospectively reflecting upon the research process and activities we carried out, and is found to be problematic. No real consensus was reached between the partners on the ,context of application'. Difficulties between industry and academia, within industry and within academia led to diverging agendas and different alignments for participants. The context of application does not (pre-)exist independently of institutional influences, and in itself cannot drive transdisciplinarity since it is subject to competing claims and negotiations. There were unresolved tensions in terms of private vs. public construction companies and their expectations of ICT-based knowledge management, and in terms of the sustainable construction agenda. This post hoc reflexive account, enables us to critique our own roles in having developed a managerial technology for technically sophisticated and powerful private industrial actors to the detriment of public sector construction partners, having bypassed sustainability issues, and not reached transdisciplinarity. We argue that this is due to institutional pressures and instrumentalization from academia, industry and government and a restricted notion of business relevance. There exists a politically motivated tendency to oppose Mode 1 academic research to practitioner-oriented Mode 2 approaches to management research. We argue that valuing the links between co-existing Mode 1 and 2 research activities would support a more genuine and fuller exploration of the context of application. [source]


Virtuelles Bauen und partnerschaftliche Geschäftsmodelle , eine innovative Verbindung

BAUTECHNIK, Issue 7 2006
Mike Gralla Univ.-Prof.
Durch eine frühe Zusammenarbeit von Bauherrn, Planern und Bauunternehmen können mit partnerschaftlichen Geschäftsmodellen wesentliche Nachteile von herkömmlichen Geschäftsbeziehungen im Bauwesen aufgelöst werden. Die enge Zusammenarbeit in einer frühen Phase eines Bauvorhabens ermöglicht eine fachübergreifende Optimierung hinsichtlich Planung, Bauausführung und Nutzung einer Immobilie. Hierbei sind die Methoden des virtuellen Bauens zweckmäßige Hilfsmittel, um die Koordination des Projekts und die Kommunikation zwischen den an einem Bauvorhaben beteiligten Partnern zu verbessern. Deshalb hat sich insbesondere bei partnerschaftlichen Geschäftsmodellen, die eine Preconstruction-Phase enthalten, die Verwendung von virtuellem Bauen als besonders wirksam erwiesen. Virtuelles Bauen unterstützt die Optimierung eines Bauwerks und hilft bei der anschaulichen Kommunikation von Optimierungsergebnissen durch die Visualisierung mit interaktiven Computermodellen. Virtual Design and Construction (ViCon) führt das virtuelle Bauen in die tägliche Planungs- und Baupraxis ein und ist eine Schlüsseltechnologie des Bauwesens. ViCon wird in der Praxis bei zahlreichen Projekten eingesetzt, die mit dem partnerschaftlichen Geschäftsmodell PreFair durchgeführt werden. In diesem Beitrag werden die Einsatzmöglichkeiten von ViCon an ausgewählten Beispielen dargestellt. Virtual construction and partnership-based business models , an innovative combination. When clients, design engineers and construction companies work together within the framework of partnership-based business models from an early stage, major disadvantages of traditional business relationships in the construction sector can be eliminated. Close cooperation in an early phase of a construction project makes for interdisciplinary optimization with regard to a property's design, construction and utilization. In this context, the methods of virtual construction are useful tools to improve communication between the parties involved in a construction project. Using virtual construction has therefore proved to be particularly effective when working with partnership-based business models that comprise a preconstruction phase. Virtual construction helps to optimize building structures and assists in graphically communicating optimization results by way of visualization with interactive computer models. Virtual Design and Construction (ViCon) introduces virtual construction in the daily design and construction work and is a key technology in the construction industry. In practice, ViCon is employed in numerous projects that are implemented based on the PreFair business model. Using selected examples, this article shows the range of ViCon's possible application. [source]


Overcoming barriers to sustainability: an explanation of residential builders' reluctance to adopt clean technologies

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 8 2009
Jonatan Pinkse
Abstract The construction industry has great opportunities to significantly reduce CO2 emissions by improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings. However, in this industry, diffusion of cost-effective clean technologies has been notoriously slow and below potential. This paper sheds light on factors that explain why construction companies have been reluctant to adopt energy-efficient technologies. It questions why some companies have intensified their investments in clean technologies, while others are lagging behind. Based on a multiple case study of four Dutch building contractors, the paper shows that contractors that actively gather information and build internal technical capacity are keener on adopting energy-efficient technologies. Findings also reveal that it will be a major challenge for the construction industry to communicate the advantages of clean technologies to (potential) home buyers and create market demand. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]