CUSTOMER-CENTRED CONSTRUCTION: BRINGING A SERVICE APPROACH THROUGH CULTURAL CHANGE AND TEAM-WORKING

Previous research into the Construction Management Process has concentrated on promoting “win-win” partnering, alliancing and Concurrent Engineering. The BriC (Building Responsiveness into Construction) team at Cranfield University, working on an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) project, believes that the introduction of the Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership types, superimposes a view of Construction as a Service delivery system encompassing both the delivery of a Real asset plus a guaranteed service over a fixed period of years. However, it seems that the project orientation of the Construction Industry is ill designed to respond to new customer needs. This accent on Service and whole-life management rather than Asset Delivery requires radical re-evaluation of traditional methods of contracting. Responsibility for full life cycle management requires fundamental changes to the project concept. Design for operability therefore becomes of paramount importance when considering the viability of the project. The research team will draw on such concepts as team working, knowledge management, organizational learning and high reliability organizations. By conducting real world case studies the team will formulate its requirements for a prototype methodology to facilitate responsive behaviour.

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