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Al-Yami, A M H (2008) An integrated approach to value management and sustainable construction during strategic briefing in Saudi construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University.

  • Type: Thesis
  • Keywords: interview; Saudi Arabia; strategic briefing; sustainability; value management
  • ISBN/ISSN:
  • URL: https://hdl.handle.net/2134/8106
  • Abstract:
    There has recently been considerable concern regarding the degradation of the environment caused by depletion of natural resources, air pollution, global warming and the lack of consideration paid to the earth’s ecosystem. The principles of sustainable construction are thus being widely adopted by many countries all over the world. This quest towards sustainable development throughout the world has put a spotlight on the construction industry. Sustainable construction is a major concept underlying a variety of efforts to ensure a good quality of life for the present and future generations. Most developing countries have experienced a fast uptake of urbanisation and the acceleration of infrastructure development, all of which fuel the necessity of establishing sustainable construction principles; this is true in Saudi Arabia as in other countries. This research has carefully investigated the current situation of Value Management (VM) and Sustainable Construction (SC) in the Saudi construction industry in terms of their application, clients’ attitudes, barriers to implementation, identification of enablers that could overcome these barriers and improve their implementation, and determination of the level of existent knowledge about both subjects among people who work in the Saudi public sector. It has also defined Sustainable Construction principles in three dimensions, in Saudi Arabia: environmental, economic and social. The research findings have revealed that SC principles are not a major consideration in the Saudi construction industry and many people who work in the Saudi public sector have little or no experience in sustainable development. On the contrary, VM has been applied in the Saudi construction industry for more than three decades and its application is mandatory in all governmental projects funded by the Saudi government. This enables those people who work in the VM sector to possess great experience, skills and knowledge. However, there are a number of barriers that could impede or affect the VM performance in the Saudi construction industry which were taken into account in this research. Moreover, this research has developed robust background knowledge of the best practice of VM and SC within the UK construction industry. The knowledge has developed from discovering exemplary VM and/or SC projects and integrating them as case studies. The information collected has facilitated the development of an integrated approach to VM and SC during strategic briefing for construction projects. Therefore, the research has concluded that there could be substantial benefits from using VM as a road map for promoting and establishing SC principles, as well as improving awareness of it within the Saudi construction industry. Additionally, the experience and skills of VM practitioners could be exploited and harnessed to accelerate the understanding and implementation of SC principles in construction projects. Meanwhile, the principles and techniques of VM can provide the required quality for the whole life of a project during the project’s development stage, which will provide best value from a whole life perspective. As a result of this an "Integrated Approach to VM and SC during Strategic Briefing" has been developed in this research. It provides a robust methodology integrating the VM and SC processes. The integrated approach defines the sustainable terms, and establishes its essential elements, principles, drivers and benefits. This integrated approach also guides how to identify stakeholders and clarifies their roles and responsibilities with a view to increasing the value of sustainability application in the project. In addition, the approach describes the tasks and activities to be undertaken at each stage, as well as the tools and techniques required, to effectively enable clients to obtain a successful strategic briefing. The tools and techniques associated with both subjects are already in use in the industry, thus increasing its applicability and probable adoption. The techniques used were Stakeholder Analysis, Single and Double Loops Learning, Quality Function Deployment, Spider Diagram, Function Analysis and Parametric Paired Comparison and others. The integrated approach depends on the participation, communication and learning of the key stakeholders of the project and comprises eight stages: Planning; Stakeholders Briefing; Information, Innovation; Evaluation; Development, Decision-Building and Implementation stage. The framework is divided into four phases: Planning stage Stakeholders briefing stage, Workshop stage, Decision-Building stage and Implementation stage. The Integrated Approach to VM and SC during Strategic Briefing was validated through interviews with twelve industry experts possessing significant experience in VM and/or SC practice. The overall feedback was positive and comments provided were considered. Many of the experts contacted considered adopting the framework and mentioned potential benefits from it. In general, the valuation revealed that the developed integrated approach is comprehensive and has clear and detailed foundations underlying its processes and steps.