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Papers by Darshi De Saram

Research paper thumbnail of A compendium of common construction systems for recent building projects in Hong Kong

International Research Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate [CRIOCM], 2004

2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference pape

Research paper thumbnail of Setting targets and selecting tools for construction industry development

Research paper thumbnail of Academic staff views of quality systems for teaching and learning: a Hong Kong case study

Quality in Higher Education, 2005

The 'Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review' (TLQPR) recently completed in Hong K... more The 'Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review' (TLQPR) recently completed in Hong Kong had an emphasis on education quality work. This paper analyses how, from the perspective of academic staff in one university in Hong Kong, the good intentions embedded in that idea ...

Research paper thumbnail of Measuring the quality of contractors' co-ordination activities during the construction process

Construction coordination is a management function that has received a smallest amount of quality... more Construction coordination is a management function that has received a smallest amount of quality improvement attention than many others. The objective of the thesis is to study the important function of construction coordination , in particular to see if the quality of coordination can be measured in some way. Without the ability to measure, it is difficult to confidently improve the quality of the coordination function. Possibly the industry practitioners have found it difficult to align construction coordination function with the 'classic' quality improvement models of Total Quality because of its process characteristics of Informality, Intangibility, Customers' participation in the processes (Coproduction), Low repetition, Customers not soliciting the service (Unsolicited Service) and Problem solving content involved. To understand how this type of Abstract ii process can be im proved the presen t research d escribed in this thes is te sted th e two hypotheses: H1: Attributes b ased quality measu rement to ols are no t app licable to th e construction coordination processes. H2: The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is a pract ical method for measuring the quality of construction coordination processes. The bulk of the formal research activity consisted of four experiments. Experiment 1 was co nducted to understa nd the recent construction industry experiences of using the two multi-att ribute quality measurem ent system s, 'Performance Assessm ent Scoring System ' (PASS) and 'Constructio n Quality Assessment System' (CONQUAS), in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. A study was conducted by a questi onnaire survey followed by a series of in-depth interviews with a sele cted number of th e respo ndents where it was inv estigated whether th e two sy stems are s uccessfully contributing to wards achieving improved custom er satisfaction and c ontinuous im provement of products and processes. Results sho wed that th e usefulness of PASS and CONQUAS as quality im provement tools are flawed because of the mandatory enforcement involved, they are not administered by people involved in the processes, they are used for judgemental purposes, they are unable to furnish statistical evidence of quality, they cannot systematically identify customer expectations, they focus only on the outputs and are based on conformance to specifications instead of customer satisfaction. Based on these lessons learnt , it was decid ed th at th ese two measurement models are not suitable to be used for testing H1 and H2.

Research paper thumbnail of 4D dynamic construction management and visualization software: 2. Site trial

Automation in Construction, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Analysis of Safety Management System to Minimize the Risk of Working at Height

ONG Kong construction industry has a very high accident record rate. Highest numbers of accidents... more ONG Kong construction industry has a very high accident record rate. Highest numbers of accidents have occurred due to falling from height. This paper presents a research that was carried out through case studies on 14 sites where personnel were working at a height. The study indicates that 65% of the respondents did not have a safety management system in force while the rest had a reasonably sound system and complied with it. Further, a detailed study was carried out on the circumstances that led to a major accident causing many fatalities. Results point to the fact that safety management systems implemented by most construction companies lack effectiveness. Poor motivation and lack of commitment to eliminate or reduce risks and achieve progressive improvement of safety standards for all risk areas was observed. Findings suggest that financial pressure may have made the companies objectives different from those that are safety related.

Research paper thumbnail of Costs of Construction Accidents in the Social and Humanity Context – A Case Study in Hong Kong

Research paper thumbnail of Construction Coordination Activities: What Is Important and What Consumes Time

Journal of Management in Engineering, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Suitability of the Critical Incident Technique to Measure Quality of Construction Coordination

Journal of Management in Engineering, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Risk management trends in the Hong Kong construction industry: a comparison of contractors and owners perceptions

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Pain and suffering costs of persons in construction accidents: Hong Kong experience

Construction Management and Economics, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of A Compendium of Buildability Issues from the Viewpoints of Construction Practitioners

Architectural Science Review, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of A surveying course as summer experience for

Research paper thumbnail of Risk management trends in the Hong Kong construction industry: a comparison of contractors and owners perceptions

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of A compendium of common construction systems for recent building projects in Hong Kong

International Research Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate [CRIOCM], 2004

2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference pape

Research paper thumbnail of Setting targets and selecting tools for construction industry development

Research paper thumbnail of Academic staff views of quality systems for teaching and learning: a Hong Kong case study

Quality in Higher Education, 2005

The 'Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review' (TLQPR) recently completed in Hong K... more The 'Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review' (TLQPR) recently completed in Hong Kong had an emphasis on education quality work. This paper analyses how, from the perspective of academic staff in one university in Hong Kong, the good intentions embedded in that idea ...

Research paper thumbnail of Measuring the quality of contractors' co-ordination activities during the construction process

Construction coordination is a management function that has received a smallest amount of quality... more Construction coordination is a management function that has received a smallest amount of quality improvement attention than many others. The objective of the thesis is to study the important function of construction coordination , in particular to see if the quality of coordination can be measured in some way. Without the ability to measure, it is difficult to confidently improve the quality of the coordination function. Possibly the industry practitioners have found it difficult to align construction coordination function with the 'classic' quality improvement models of Total Quality because of its process characteristics of Informality, Intangibility, Customers' participation in the processes (Coproduction), Low repetition, Customers not soliciting the service (Unsolicited Service) and Problem solving content involved. To understand how this type of Abstract ii process can be im proved the presen t research d escribed in this thes is te sted th e two hypotheses: H1: Attributes b ased quality measu rement to ols are no t app licable to th e construction coordination processes. H2: The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is a pract ical method for measuring the quality of construction coordination processes. The bulk of the formal research activity consisted of four experiments. Experiment 1 was co nducted to understa nd the recent construction industry experiences of using the two multi-att ribute quality measurem ent system s, 'Performance Assessm ent Scoring System ' (PASS) and 'Constructio n Quality Assessment System' (CONQUAS), in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. A study was conducted by a questi onnaire survey followed by a series of in-depth interviews with a sele cted number of th e respo ndents where it was inv estigated whether th e two sy stems are s uccessfully contributing to wards achieving improved custom er satisfaction and c ontinuous im provement of products and processes. Results sho wed that th e usefulness of PASS and CONQUAS as quality im provement tools are flawed because of the mandatory enforcement involved, they are not administered by people involved in the processes, they are used for judgemental purposes, they are unable to furnish statistical evidence of quality, they cannot systematically identify customer expectations, they focus only on the outputs and are based on conformance to specifications instead of customer satisfaction. Based on these lessons learnt , it was decid ed th at th ese two measurement models are not suitable to be used for testing H1 and H2.

Research paper thumbnail of 4D dynamic construction management and visualization software: 2. Site trial

Automation in Construction, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Analysis of Safety Management System to Minimize the Risk of Working at Height

ONG Kong construction industry has a very high accident record rate. Highest numbers of accidents... more ONG Kong construction industry has a very high accident record rate. Highest numbers of accidents have occurred due to falling from height. This paper presents a research that was carried out through case studies on 14 sites where personnel were working at a height. The study indicates that 65% of the respondents did not have a safety management system in force while the rest had a reasonably sound system and complied with it. Further, a detailed study was carried out on the circumstances that led to a major accident causing many fatalities. Results point to the fact that safety management systems implemented by most construction companies lack effectiveness. Poor motivation and lack of commitment to eliminate or reduce risks and achieve progressive improvement of safety standards for all risk areas was observed. Findings suggest that financial pressure may have made the companies objectives different from those that are safety related.

Research paper thumbnail of Costs of Construction Accidents in the Social and Humanity Context – A Case Study in Hong Kong

Research paper thumbnail of Construction Coordination Activities: What Is Important and What Consumes Time

Journal of Management in Engineering, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Suitability of the Critical Incident Technique to Measure Quality of Construction Coordination

Journal of Management in Engineering, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Risk management trends in the Hong Kong construction industry: a comparison of contractors and owners perceptions

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Pain and suffering costs of persons in construction accidents: Hong Kong experience

Construction Management and Economics, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of A Compendium of Buildability Issues from the Viewpoints of Construction Practitioners

Architectural Science Review, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of A surveying course as summer experience for

Research paper thumbnail of Risk management trends in the Hong Kong construction industry: a comparison of contractors and owners perceptions

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 1999