Dr Mahmoud Ershadi

The contemporary literature emphasizes a need to delve into how project management offices (PMOs) can be effectively operated in construction organizations by embedding integrated project management rather than relying on stand-alone project controls. However, capabilities for running high-performing PMOs in this complex industry are still unknown to this growing body of knowledge, which is considered a barrier to the realization of their full potential. To address this gap, the current research explores a factor structure for core capabilities using a cross-validation method with survey data from 395 experts in general contracting organizations. The results revealed that the five-factor measurement model encompasses constructs of competent human resources and supportive culture, strategic alignment, delivery support, knowledge management, and leveraging organizational capabilities. This study extends the current literature by establishing a new measurement model explaining the dimensionality of PMO capabilities.

Nowadays, the business environment is dynamic and constantly changing, which intensifies competition among companies. The complexity of competition in multi-business holding companies is higher than in other organisations due to the complexities of different industries and their uncertainties in terms of investment policies and corporate strategies. Such companies need a strategic plan to align business requirements with their various functions. In this regard, strategic planning managers (SPMs) have a significant role in analysing possible business scenarios and putting optimal plans in place to guarantee their implementation in a specific timeline. This study aims to identify and discuss the necessary competencies and capabilities of this cohort of managers. In the present article, a qualitative approach was adopted, and the findings are based on observations in a case study multi-discipline holding organisation. The viewpoints of the key managers were obtained, and a competency framework was developed. The results indicate that the professional competencies of SPMs can be explained in terms of the two aspects of (1) strategy formulation and (2) strategy implementation. A framework is presented in this paper that summarises the viewpoints of managers in the case study organisation on the requisite competencies of SPMs. Although prior studies explain the general competencies of managers from a universal perspective, this study steps beyond the borders of such models and extends the literature on the professional competencies of a specific and most influential cohort of business managers in holding organisations through an in-depth case study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to identify major project management (PM) complexities in principal construction contracting; and second, to study the contribution of project management offices (PMOs) to addressing such complexities. Design/methodology/approach: A two-stage research design was adopted through a structured literature review (SLR) and a qualitative survey study. Findings: The two-stage study resulted in mapping out the contribution of 10 functional areas to 15 complexity factors that were retrieved from the literature and categorized using the TOE (technical, organizational and environmental) framework. Six outcomes including (1) facilitated processes, (2) improved decisions, (3) improved coordination, (4) enhanced alignment, (5) addressed uncertainties and (6) integrated oversight were identified that describe how PMOs can contribute to tackling complexities. Research limitations/implications: Similar to other qualitative studies, this study has some limitations in terms of the replicability of results. Regarding the exploratory nature of this study to explain the contribution of PMO to complexity, further quantitative surveys can be conducted using a larger sample to statistically examine the significance of proposed relations between capabilities and complexity factors. Practical implications: This study provides an understanding of the contribution of PMOs to tackling ever-increasing complexities embedded in construction contracting. The authors suggest requirements to be considered by professionals toward overcoming such complexities. Originality/value: Although prior studies have separately investigated PMO functions and PM complexities, this study explores the link between these two spheres to discuss one important application of PMO in this context.

Although the role of project portfolio management (PPM) in evaluating, selecting, and prioritizing the right set of projects has been explored in previous research, the current literature still lacks a framework of factors affecting PPM effectiveness in the construction industry. This study aims to identify these factors and examine their importance from industry experts¿ viewpoints. A literature review was followed by obtaining the viewpoints of industry experts through interviews and the Delphi method. The findings are presented in the form of a framework including 18 factors reflecting organizational, technological, human, and process aspects necessary for achieving an effective PPM mechanism. The current study is unique in terms of consolidating theoretical suggestions of previous studies, incorporating new factors, and evaluating their priority in achieving an effective PPM system. The findings revealed that organizational factors are of higher priority as the basis for technological, human, and process factors. The results open up new ways for researchers to undertake follow-up quantitative research on the relationships between determinants of PPM effectiveness.

Falling from height (FFH) is blamed for causing significant injuries and deaths on construction sites. Previous research has outlined a broad range of technological advances facilitating the management of the FFH safety risk. However, the extant literature lacks a comprehensive assessment to investigate the contribution of various FFH technologies, as well as their implementation feasibility on construction sites, which provides rationale for this study. The study aims to assess recent safety technologies which can be used to control the risk of FFH on construction sites, especially in urban building construction projects. A scoping review was conducted to identify such technologies and provide insight into their application in the construction industry. As a result of searching Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases between 2010 and 2021, a total of 86 representative studies were selected and reviewed. Following this stage, an assessment of their feasibility was carried out based on a set of criteria from the literature. A total of 7 FFH technologies were identified, characterising the contribution of recent technologies to the prediction, prevention, and mitigation of FFH risks. These technologies include (1) Safety risk assessment and propagation, (2) real-time sensing and monitoring, (3) automated prevention through design, (4) ontology and knowledge modelling, (5) virtual reality for FFH training, (6) personal fall arrest systems, and (7) collective fall protection systems. This research contributes to an improved understanding of the status of FFH technologies. The feasibility assessment provides insight into suitable technologies for construction projects of various sizes and features.

Sustainable procurement management (SPM) as an approach to integrating sustainability into project procurement takes into account the social, ecological, and economical consequences of procurement decisions. Several challenges hinder the proper achievement of SPM objectives in the construction industry. Previous studies have delved into such barriers in the public sector while the private sector is still less explored and requires further in-depth investigation. Regarding limited research in this area, the purpose of this study is to identify barriers hindering SPM in the private sector through an empirical study. A case study analysis based on interviews was conducted to solicit the viewpoints of construction professionals in a high-profile construction organization. Two categories of intra-organizational and extra-organizational barriers were identified; The intra-organizational barriers relate to the mechanisms, resources, and capacities within an organization while extra-organizational barriers relate to a broader environment in which an organization interacts with stakeholders in an integrated supply chain. The findings provide an improved understanding of SPM obstacles and shed light on the possible solutions, which can be used by both academics and practitioners to improve the current status of SPM practice.

Today¿s project management offices (PMOs) in the construction sector need to be equipped with breakthrough capabilities necessary for making a difference in multi-project management. Although there is an upward trend in academic research on PMOs, a comprehensive framework of potential success variables is still lacking in the literature. This research aims to assess the extant literature from the perspective of the construction sector to provide a single consolidated overview of potential PMO success variables. A systematic search process was adopted to retrieve publications and narrow them down to eligible studies followed by a qualitative synthesis. A set of 32 success variables was synthesized and inductively categorized under four emerging themes of (1) establishing PM infrastructure, (2) promoting PM practices, (3) PMO structuring, and (4) organizational support. This set of variables refers to three kinds of functional, structural, and contextual variables characterizing potential features of successful construction PMOs. These variables were compared between the construction industry and other industries to reflect contextual contrasts and similarities. A research agenda was proposed to encourage empirical studies on examining success variables. This study contributes to an improved understanding of PMO success variables in the construction industry and directs future research towards the most important topics.

The emergence of Building Information Modelling (BIM) has revolutionized the infrastructure construction industry by introducing real-time and collaborative information management tools to be used throughout the lifecycle of projects. The importance of BIM in this industry has been emphasized in previous research. However, strategies for the implementation of this system is still less explored, which requires more elaboration and validation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate such strategies considering all necessary dimensions of the BIM system in infrastructure construction projects. The findings are based on theoretical discussion and semi-structured interviews in a case study project in New South Wales, Australia. The results revealed that BIM integrates various elements of infrastructure construction, which include but are not limited to risk, time, cost, energy, safety, and sustainability. It was found that implementation strategies should focus on improving the contribution of the BIM system to infrastructure construction in terms of improved (1) integrity and automation, (2) collaboration, and (3) optimization. Identification of seven technical and managerial implementations strategies is the core contribution of this research. These strategies provide practitioners with insight into technical and managerial measures to be taken for the successful implementation of the BIM system.

Environmental and ecological impacts associated with construction activities have become an ever-increasing concern, especially the considerable amount of waste generated on construction sites. Regulations and growing client pressure on meeting environmental standards have led contractors to adopt sustainable practices and try to embed this concept in their processes. Sustainable procurement management (SPM) as a potential solution takes the environmental consequences of procurement decisions into account and integrates sustainable practices into project procurement to bring positive environmental outcomes. Previous research has mainly focused on the public sector in achieving green procurement, yet this study attempts to highlight internal capacities that help private organisations manage the requirements associated with practicing sustainability. It is theorised that robust management structures, specifically project management offices (PMOs), would enhance the oversight capabilities of contractors in implementing the SPM process. The objectives of the current study are to (1) identify the requirements of a sustainable project procurement process in construction sites based on a literature review, and (2) explore the facilitative role of PMO units in achieving these requirements in the private sector. A literature review was conducted followed by a qualitative survey to solicit the viewpoints of construction professionals in principle contracting firms. As a result of the study, we identified 17 sustainability requirements and found that PMOs boost collaboration and improve the quality of decision making towards sustainable procurement. The findings (1) explain how PMOs support sustainability, (2) provide insights on implementing sustainable practices in project purchases, and (3) improve theoretical understanding of the SPM principles.

Academic institutions play a prominent role in nurturing resilience skills in their graduates especially in fields, such as construction management (CM), which deal with a challenging work environment. Although resilience is a well-established topic in the literature, there is still a paucity of research that examines the importance of academic resilience interventions in the CM discipline. To address this research gap, this study aims to analyse the importance of academic resilience interventions (ARI) from the perception of CM students. First, the literature on ARIs in relevant contexts was reviewed followed by a quantitative survey to obtain the viewpoints of undergraduates undertaking CM programs in Australia. This paper is based on the survey data collected from 105 undergraduate students from five universities. Applying an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), three latent variables were found: (1) industry engagement; (2) raising awareness; and (3) readiness and empowerment to represent the identified ARIs. An importance analysis using the 2D quadrant method revealed that the ARI measures labelled ¿site visits,¿ ¿role model,¿ and ¿self-assessment¿ from the industry engagement aspect (factor1), ¿role-playing¿ from the raising awareness aspect (factor2), and ¿case study¿ from the readiness and empowerment aspect (factor3) are the most important ARIs from the perception of students. An independent-samples t-test revealed that there is no significant difference between the perception of male and female students on the importance of each ARI. The study provides an enhanced understanding of resilience interventions that can be leveraged for improving the CM curricula.

Previous research enables managers to apply appropriate safety management factors for increased site safety. However, the heterogeneity of such factors in contemporary studies makes it difficult for practitioners to keep up to date with relevant alternatives. There is a paucity of systematic reviews that examine factors, map out their relationships, categorize research gaps, assess the practicality of research findings, and offer direction for future research. In this paper, a systematic review of 2574 articles published between 2010 and 2020 and a full-text examination of 75 quantitative surveys were conducted to catalogue, synthesize, and assess safety management factors in contemporary literature. Thematic analysis subsequently revealed 38 interrelated safety management factors to be classified under three individual, workgroup, and organizational groups. A critical content analysis of the representative studies was conducted to identify five future research trends as well as associated research gaps and directions on construction safety management in the form of an agenda suggesting a shift in research emphasis from physical safety issues to organizational and culture-related factors that have the potential to systematically enhance the overall safety performance. Furthermore, directions are provided to safety practitioners concerning the useful implementation of safety management factors.

Public and private organizations are distinct in terms of ownership structure and stakeholders because they approach project management processes and structures differently. Thus, it is likely that they operate project oversight structures such as a project management office (PMO) differently and focus on a diverse set of functions. This study is dedicated to investigating PMO functions in these two cohorts of organizations to highlight their functional contrast through a quantitative survey in the Australian construction industry. The sample includes PMO units in high-performing organizations delivering successful projects in the construction industry. A literature review was conducted to identify possible functions followed by an empirical survey to solicit expert comments on the importance of each function. The results of an independent-samples t-test revealed a significant difference in the importance of three functions including (1) benchmarking best practices, (2) project management compliance, and (3) project governance, which indicate a distinction between the underpinning role that PMOs play in the public and private sectors. Following this test, the relative importance index (RII) was calculated to compare the importance level of functions and rank them across two sets of public and private organizations. The unique value that this work contributes to the construction engineering and management global community includes (1) exploring similarities and differences of PMO practice in the public and private sectors and (2) revealing the most important PMO functions in high-performing organizations, which can be applied to enhance the chance of PMO success. The findings address a research gap in the literature and contribute to the extant body of knowledge on how to configure effective PMOs in the construction context.

The concept of the project management office (PMO) is well-established in academic literature. This organizational phenomenon has revolutionized practices applied by organizations toward coordinating and overseeing multiple projects throughout the design, engineering, initiation, execution, and handover stages. The construction industry is one of the contexts in which more research is still needed to provide practical guidelines for achieving effective PMO functioning. This study explores several core capabilities of these entities from the perspective of construction project management practitioners working in the contracting sector. In this regard, we solicited expert judgment based on an online questionnaire followed by thematic analysis. Respondents suggested six drivers that can contribute to improving the effectiveness of construction PMOs in practice. This study provides insight into some capabilities that can be employed for delivering high-performing PMOs.