Construction Quality and the Economy

This book discusses the relationship between construction quality and the state of the Singapore national economy, and describes how construction quality is affected as contracting firms strategically manage issues relating to profitability and survivability during economic boom and bust cycles. Adopting a three-pronged approach to explain the key issues, the book first explains the effect of the state of the Singapore national economy (boom or bust) on the construction quality delivered by contracting firms. Secondly, it explains how contracting firms respond to the performance of the national economy through their dynamic bidding strategies, leading to significant quality trade-offs in some instances, especially when there is imprecise market information. Thirdly, it recommends various strategic measures that key stakeholders and government policy-makers can take to circumvent the quality trade-off in the construction industry when faced with dynamic fluctuations in the performance of the national economy.
Although the book focuses on Singapore, it appeals to a global audience since countries worldwide (and their respective building-related stakeholders) face the same issues in terms of the timecostquality trade-off decision-making process involving the entire supply chain.

Examines the relationship between the state of the economy (boom or bust) and construction quality Describes the impacts of economic recessions on the performance of contracting firms Presents theories on how contracting firms rationalize their timecostquality decisions in economic recessions

Autorentext

Dr Leni Sagita Riantini Supriadi graduated with a PhD from the National University of Singapore. She also holds Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) and Master of Engineering (MEng) degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Indonesia, where she was awarded the PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarships. Dr Supriadi was a Lecturer at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Indonesia when she won a research scholarship to embark on her doctoral studies in Singapore. An excellent paper award winner, her works have been published in connection with numerous international conferences as well as the proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), London. Dr Low Sui Pheng is presently a Professor of Building at the School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, where he previously served as the Head and Vice Dean. He teaches construction project management, a field in which he has extensively published, researched and consulted, both in Singapore and overseas. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building, he holds a DSc degree from the University of Birmingham, UK and a PhD from the University College London. He currently serves as Director of the Centre for Project Management and Construction Law at the National University of Singapore.

Inhalt
Introduction.- The Economy and the Construction Industry.- Government's Role in a High Quality Built Environment.- Firm Characteristics and Strategies.- Firm's Trade-Off Decisions and Theory of Firm Behavior.- The Conceptual Framework.- Research Design and Methodology.- Survey Results Analysis and Discussion.- Case Study Results Analysis and Discussion.- Experts Interviews on Triangulated and Non-Triangulated Findings.- Conclusions.