There are progressive architects, engineers, contractors and owners that adopt some of the newest technologies for financial benefits. The moving force to integrate BIM （building information modeling） tools may come...There are progressive architects, engineers, contractors and owners that adopt some of the newest technologies for financial benefits. The moving force to integrate BIM （building information modeling） tools may come from owners demanding a BIM deliverable to approve the work on these projects. Ifa contractor can produce this deliverable, then obtaining the project could be done in a more convincing way. Contractors are confronted with problems in selecting proper construction methods and applying their knowledge about specific and well-defined technologies to a project. Their decision-making process and better project outcomes can be improved through a database-oriented library of construction methods and therefore, a consistent methodology to classify construction methods is needed. This goal can be achieved by introducing rigorous construction method descriptors. The technology solution and the trending need of owners to pay software companies to develop software that really works for them and contractors are empirically proved in this paper through a technology ontology and BIM-enabled estimating procedure. An exploratory case study is presented. This way, owners can efficiently demand deliverables that can be utilized by them downstream, allowing contractors and subcontracting trades to work efficiently and to assure the daily flow of operations.展开更多
The purpose of this study is to understand limitations and possibilities of organizing independent contractors by focusing on insurance solicitors in South Korea. Among various types of precarious employment, insuranc...The purpose of this study is to understand limitations and possibilities of organizing independent contractors by focusing on insurance solicitors in South Korea. Among various types of precarious employment, insurance solicitors are an exemplar case of independent contractor jobs in Korea. According to the narrow interpretation on the employment relationship by the courts, the labor standard law does not treat insurance solicitors as workers. And, most of insurance solicitors are not affiliated with labor unions. As a result, insurance solicitors are outside labor protections. Under this context, insurance solicitors attempted to organize their own union--Korean Insurance Agents＇ Union （KIAU） in the early 2000s, and turned it into a branch of Korean Finance and Service Workers＇ Union （KFSWU） in 2004. However, the KIAU lost its membership rapidly since the mid-2000s and has failed to revitalize itself until now. So, in this study, the author focuses on the changes in the employment structure behind the growth of the insurance industry in the private sector and the reason why union organizing of independent contractors was not successful.展开更多
Limited research has been conducted on the internal tendering procedures(ITP) of construction contractors because of the commercially sensitive and confidential nature of the subject matter. This limitation explains t...Limited research has been conducted on the internal tendering procedures(ITP) of construction contractors because of the commercially sensitive and confidential nature of the subject matter. This limitation explains the reluctance of contractors to undergo interviews. Existing research(outside bid/no-bid and margin decision factor identification and subsequent decision modeling development) only begins to provide insights into key tendering stages, particularly around risk assessments and corporate review processes. Early research suggested one to three review stages. However, when considering the whole work procurement process from prospect identification to contract execution, five to seven series of reviews can be arguably applied by some contractors, wherein some reviews stepped through several layers of internal senior management. Tendering processes were presented as flowchart models that traditionally follow "hard" system(rectangular shapes and straight line arrows) steps, which suggest that a precise process also leads to precise results. However, given that contractors do not win every tender they submit, the process is less precise than that suggested in rigidly structured flowcharts.Twenty-five detailed semi-structured interviews were held with purposely selected high-profile publicly and privately owned construction companies in Australia with significantly varied turnovers. Analyses show that contractors are concerned about the negative effects of increasing corporate governance demands, with many stating that people involved are the most critical element to tendering success. A new way of presenting the ITP of contractors is assessed using a soft systems methodology(SSM) approach. SSM offers an alternative way of considering human interaction challenges within the ITP of contractors, which needs to be tested with the industry.The format graphics of SSM guidelines are presented as a way of offering contractors a different approach, which may assist individuals who are looking to re-structure their tendering activities in a more humanistic and less rigid procedural approach.展开更多
文摘There are progressive architects, engineers, contractors and owners that adopt some of the newest technologies for financial benefits. The moving force to integrate BIM （building information modeling） tools may come from owners demanding a BIM deliverable to approve the work on these projects. Ifa contractor can produce this deliverable, then obtaining the project could be done in a more convincing way. Contractors are confronted with problems in selecting proper construction methods and applying their knowledge about specific and well-defined technologies to a project. Their decision-making process and better project outcomes can be improved through a database-oriented library of construction methods and therefore, a consistent methodology to classify construction methods is needed. This goal can be achieved by introducing rigorous construction method descriptors. The technology solution and the trending need of owners to pay software companies to develop software that really works for them and contractors are empirically proved in this paper through a technology ontology and BIM-enabled estimating procedure. An exploratory case study is presented. This way, owners can efficiently demand deliverables that can be utilized by them downstream, allowing contractors and subcontracting trades to work efficiently and to assure the daily flow of operations.
文摘The purpose of this study is to understand limitations and possibilities of organizing independent contractors by focusing on insurance solicitors in South Korea. Among various types of precarious employment, insurance solicitors are an exemplar case of independent contractor jobs in Korea. According to the narrow interpretation on the employment relationship by the courts, the labor standard law does not treat insurance solicitors as workers. And, most of insurance solicitors are not affiliated with labor unions. As a result, insurance solicitors are outside labor protections. Under this context, insurance solicitors attempted to organize their own union--Korean Insurance Agents＇ Union （KIAU） in the early 2000s, and turned it into a branch of Korean Finance and Service Workers＇ Union （KFSWU） in 2004. However, the KIAU lost its membership rapidly since the mid-2000s and has failed to revitalize itself until now. So, in this study, the author focuses on the changes in the employment structure behind the growth of the insurance industry in the private sector and the reason why union organizing of independent contractors was not successful.
文摘Limited research has been conducted on the internal tendering procedures(ITP) of construction contractors because of the commercially sensitive and confidential nature of the subject matter. This limitation explains the reluctance of contractors to undergo interviews. Existing research(outside bid/no-bid and margin decision factor identification and subsequent decision modeling development) only begins to provide insights into key tendering stages, particularly around risk assessments and corporate review processes. Early research suggested one to three review stages. However, when considering the whole work procurement process from prospect identification to contract execution, five to seven series of reviews can be arguably applied by some contractors, wherein some reviews stepped through several layers of internal senior management. Tendering processes were presented as flowchart models that traditionally follow "hard" system(rectangular shapes and straight line arrows) steps, which suggest that a precise process also leads to precise results. However, given that contractors do not win every tender they submit, the process is less precise than that suggested in rigidly structured flowcharts.Twenty-five detailed semi-structured interviews were held with purposely selected high-profile publicly and privately owned construction companies in Australia with significantly varied turnovers. Analyses show that contractors are concerned about the negative effects of increasing corporate governance demands, with many stating that people involved are the most critical element to tendering success. A new way of presenting the ITP of contractors is assessed using a soft systems methodology(SSM) approach. SSM offers an alternative way of considering human interaction challenges within the ITP of contractors, which needs to be tested with the industry.The format graphics of SSM guidelines are presented as a way of offering contractors a different approach, which may assist individuals who are looking to re-structure their tendering activities in a more humanistic and less rigid procedural approach.
