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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.Project management

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    Construction projects status tracking : a real-time data-driven framework for delay management and analysis : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Building and Construction, School of Built Environment, College of Science, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-10-16) Radman, Kambiz
    Construction delays remain one of the most critical challenges in project delivery, often resulting in cost overruns, schedule slippages, and weakened stakeholder confidence. Traditional delay management methods are largely reactive, relying on periodic reporting and fragmented communication across project teams. In contrast, the increasing availability of digital tools offers the opportunity to adopt more proactive, data-driven approaches. This study introduces a framework that centralises and analyses real-time project data from multiple stakeholders, including head contractors, subcontractors, consultants (via Building Information Modelling—BIM), and on-site teams. By integrating these diverse inputs into a unified Power BI dashboard, the framework enhances early detection of delays, improves coordination, and supports timely decision-making. Earned Value (EV) metrics are embedded as key control points, providing early signals of deviations and potential risks. Despite these advances, several research gaps remain. Existing systems are often costly and complex, highlighting the need for simple, inexpensive, and user-friendly solutions. Real-time data acquisition and centralisation are still underdeveloped, limiting the speed and reliability of insights. Current practice focuses heavily on retrospective reporting, with limited capability for real-time analytics or predictive forecasting. Stakeholder communication and coordination remain fragmented, while systematic early notification systems for emerging delays are rarely implemented. Ultimately, it is necessary to integrate historical and real-time data to facilitate predictive delay analytics. Addressing these gaps would help shift construction delay management from reactive intervention towards proactive risk mitigation. Guided by these gaps, the research is shaped around three central questions: (1) What causes delays in major construction projects, and how do these delays affect stakeholder collaboration? (2) How are digital technologies currently being deployed to improve project performance in relation to delays and risks? (3) How can a new framework be designed and evaluated to strengthen early delay detection and enhance project outcomes? To answer these questions, five objectives are established. First, to identify and analyse the key project stakeholders and the principal causes of delay. Second, to review and assess the role of digital technologies in construction projects. Third, to develop a framework that integrates real-time data for enhanced monitoring, reporting, and early detection of delays. Finally, to evaluate this framework in practice, assess its effectiveness in enhancing transparency, facilitating stakeholder coordination, and improving overall project performance. In doing so, this research contributes to the advancement of digital construction management by embedding real-time analytics into live project environments. The proposed framework not only enhances transparency and resource allocation but also lays the groundwork for predictive delay management, thereby aligning construction practices with the broader objectives of Industry 4.0.
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    A study of the industry/university/government (UIG) collaborative project organisation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Skelton, Lorraine
    Research projects are a subset of project management that is gaining attention. Primarily driven by the need for innovation to boost economic growth. This need has brought with it an impetus for researchers to work together between enterprises and gain the benefits of cross-sector collaboration. The surge of interest has been attributed to the increased importance of collaboration between university, industry and government, theorized by Etzkowith and Levdesdorff (1995) and termed the Triple Helix. Their work led to the recognition that successful innovation depends upon the effective selection and management of the research project portfolio and the research partners. Studies in this area largely focus on how well the relationships are either working or not working, and there is little published literature that seeks to understand what is particular to each of these environments that causes difficulties when working together across the ‘cultural gap’ (Kirkland, 2010). Existing studies have identified several key differentiators that create barriers to effective collaboration. The present study aims to develop these areas into a more complete framework and contextualise the factors (in the present research called ‘differentiating themes’) for each of the three sectors. A multilevel approach was taken to understand the areas of difference between team member and key informant participant levels, while incorporating a project approach across the traditional project components of phases and constraints. The findings of this research are based on a thematic analysis of the current literature. Nine broad themes of: funding, project, leadership, teamwork, completion, scientific endeavor, intellectual property, ethics and career, were further divided into sixteen subthemes. These describe the main areas of difference – or tensions between the sectors involved in the collaboration. The data collection was guided by a data collection model developed for this study. The study also measured the perceived outcomes of the collaborative effort, using the Strategic Alliance Formative Assessment Rubric (SAFAR), developed by Gajda (2004), which seeks to capture growth in a collaboration over time, and is used to measure both the inputs and outputs of the collaboration. The survey yielded 94 responses. Semi-structured interviews focussed on how both context and individual experience influence the themes, using a representative sample of team members and key informants from each sector, with twenty interviews conducted in both New Zealand and Australia. New differentiating themes were identified through the interviews and added to the original framework: main themes of collaboration, project management method, communication, internationalism and project mishaps, and subthemes of trust, contract management, task segregation, profitability and influencing. The study explored the impact of the differentiating themes as either contributors or influencers to the collaboration, as well as their impact on pre-project, project, and post-project phases in a framework for use by all parties involved in the UIG. The study has added to our current understanding of this project type through the development of a more encompassing framework, taking in multiple themes within the UIG collaborative style project. It has produced findings that consider the influencing dynamics of the sectors and participants addressed, from the perspective of both collaboration and project level determinants including the importance of collaborative outcomes. The study highlights the formation of collaborations, ongoing influences, and the differences found which account for many of the barriers to both start-up and ongoing collaborative development. This study also highlights the need to develop strategies for collaboration including between sector strategies to advance the benefits of collaboration, performance measures that reward collaboration, and the necessity to understand and accommodate the outcomes needed by all participants. The study has also increased the understanding of the complexity of the processes involved in UIG collaboration.